


room to grow

by tinybox



Series: Side Effects May Vary [3]
Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Adorable Papyrus (Undertale), Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Canonical Character Death, Child Abandonment, Cooking, Families of Choice, Family Loss, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Pre-Canon, Pre-Undertale Pacifist Route, Scientist W. D. Gaster, Somebody Lives/Not Everyone Dies
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-10
Updated: 2019-12-14
Packaged: 2019-12-26 15:27:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 63
Words: 39,038
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18285074
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tinybox/pseuds/tinybox
Summary: King Asgore made a vow to kill any human that fell Underground, a choice fueled by grief and despair.In one reality, it's a promise he's unable to keep.





	1. the beginning

**Author's Note:**

  * For [dream1990](https://archiveofourown.org/users/dream1990/gifts).




	2. light blue soul (patience)

There is a human child sitting among his garden, examining the flowers curiously, and the promise he had made seems more real than it had ever been before. Words catch in his throat; what can he possibly say? Perhaps it would be merciful to do this now, but...he can't even move.

He can only stand still, his tea growing colder and colder, as the child starts carefully weaving the flowers into a crown. Occasionally, they cough into their elbow, wipe their nose across their shirt sleeve. 

"Child?" he manages to force out, his voice wobbling slightly. They startle slightly, and accidentally rip the flower chain in half. But they smile at him shyly, before their gaze drops to the ground below. 

"Sorry, mister king," they whisper softly, "I didn't mean to make a mess of your flowers." 

"...You don't need to apologize, it's alright. Flowers are a very hardy species, afterall." Taking a breath, he continues. "My name is Asgore, and it's a pleasure to meet you, young child."

"My name's Cody. I'm nine and three quarters."

"It's nice to meet you, Cody."

Cody stands up, brushing the dirt from their overalls with one hand. "Is this your garden? It's nice. Evergreen said to bring her back a flower if I could. She gave me her ribbon, see? But just to borrow, I have to give it back when I come to their house- I mean, when I come home." They gesture to the pale blue ribbon tied around their left wrist, before sneezing in two quick bursts.

"Sorry, my nose is still stoffed up cause I got flu-monia." Cody explains, wiping their nose on their shirt sleeve again. Asgore resists the urge to hand them a tissue. 

His smile feels brittle, as though it could shatter into a million pieces at any moment. He's standing on a precipice, whatever he decides to do, there will be no turning back. 

"Would you...would you like some tea?" Asgore eventually asks. "I've been meaning to brew some more, it seems as though this one has gone cold, anyway." 

Cody looks dubiously at the mug. "Dunno. Tea tastes weird. Pip keeps making me drink it, and it tastes like grass and mud."

Then, with a more panicked expression, they quickly backtrack. "Sorry, mister king, I didn't mean to be rude, I'm sorry I was making fun of your tea."

Now his smile feels more real as he reassures them kindly, "No offense at all, young Cody, everyone has their own likes and dislikes. Whether or not you enjoy drinking tea, it's nice to have someone to talk with. Would you mind keeping me company?" 

Hesitantly, they walk over to him, taking the hand he offers them. "You got giant hands," Cody marvels, "I bet you could hide an entire pie in both of 'em."

This startles a genuine chuckle out of him, and Cody grins, pleased at his reaction. "Perhaps. My wife enjoys baking pies, maybe next time I'll try that sometime. Now why don't you follow me into the sitting room."

 

_For most children, a day off from school is the perfect opportunity to play with friends. Evergreen, however, has always been a bit of a loner, preferring to spend her time exploring the forest around Snowdin instead._

_The air feels cool and crisp against her whiskers, and the familiar smell of pine comforts her. Walking along, she pokes each snowpoff she sees, delighting in the way they collapse, feeling proud for making the path easier to walk on._

_Then she spots a much larger snowpoff. It looks more like a snowlump, but even bigger, almost about her height if he were to lay down._

_Walking up to it, she gives it an experimental poke. Her paw touches something that isn't snow, something soft yet firm._

_"Wah!" she cries, leaping back as whatever it is moves slightly. When nothing else happens, she creeps forward and begins brushing off the snow. Maybe it's a reactivated puzzle?_

_It's not a puzzle._

_To her horror, she sees a kid laying on their back in the snow, barely moving, breaths so shallow she can hardly see them at all._

_"Mama! Mama!" Evergreen calls frantically, bursting indoors, slamming the door with a clatter behind her. Her mother, sitting on the sofa with the newspaper, looks up, and starts to scold her for slamming the door, as well as tracking snow into the house, but, seeing her daughter's frantic expression, stops her mid-scold._

_Rushing towards Evergreen, she scoops her up in her arms. "Are you alright? Are you hurt? What happened?" She asks worriedly, scanning her daughter for injuries._

_Evergreen wriggles in her mother's grasp until she is put down. "Mama, there's a kid! In the snow! They're not moving!"_

_Grabbing her medical kit, Pip tells her daughter in a firm voice, "Lead me to them."_

_When the arrive at the spot, she sees the child and is stunned by the fact they haven't already dusted yet. Hurriedly, she **checks**  them. _

_**Cody** _

_**LV 1  HP 2/15** _

_Cradling the young child in her arms, Pip rushes home with Evergreen close behind, snow flying with each running step. The return seems to take hours, but finally they're inside. Rushing to the living room, Pip tells Evergreen to fetch some Sea Tea, while she warms up the child. Though she recoils at the idea of invading the child's privacy, their survival came first. Stripping them of their clothes, she starts rubbing them with a towel. The child, still lying in her arms, whimpers slightly. Their hand slowly reaches up before falling flat again._

_Evergreen hurries back with the Sea Tea. "Okay," Pip says, "we'll need to make sure they get some into their system."_

_Carefully, she spoonfuls drops of Sea Tea into the child's mouth, most of which ends up dribbling out. But some of the tea does seem to be working, because their HP is slowly crawling back up._

_She **checks** them again, and is relieved to see that their HP is now five, much higher than it was before. The child is no longer still, though their movements are sluggish it's better then they were before._

_Wrapping the child in blankets, she settles in front of the fire. Now that young Cody's in a better shape, their soul can be pulled out safely for examination._

_"..."_

_"Mama?"_

_Their soul...it's wrong. The whole thing is saturated a pale blue color, and it's upside-down to boot._

_No...she realizes, their soul isn't wrong, because this is..._

_"This is a human," she breathes, starting down at the child, whose soul has already retreated._

_"Mama?" Evergreen asks once more, voice shaking with fear, paws clutching each other. She's still wearing her winter gear, despite the warmth of the house._

_Mentally shaking herself, Pip responds, "No matter. Evergreen, I need you to make up the guest bedroom for me. First, take off the coat, it looks like you're boiling alive in there."_

_Shedding her coat and hat, Evergreen leaves them in a heap as she runs off._

_"She always does this," Pip find herself fondly saying to the unconscious child. They stir, mumble out what might be the word mom, before falling back unconscious._

_For hours, the child writhes in bed, burning with fever yet still shaking uncontrollably. All she can do is press cold rags against their head and give them spoonfuls of soup, and hope the sickness will soon pass. As time goes by, she find herself humming old lullabies she hadn't sung since Evergreen was a baby, rubbing soothing circles on their palm with her paws. At first, their hand is lax, but then it clutches her wrist with a tight grip._

_"Oh, little one," she breathes, "you're certainly a survivor."_

 

Asgore settles Cody down on an armchair, giving them a soft blanket. "Just one moment," Asgore explains, "I just need to brew some more tea, and I'll bring out some biscuits as well."

"Kay."

When Asgore returns, the human has wrapped the blanket around them in a small nest. Sitting on the opposite armchair, he hands them a plate with two biscuits on it. "I hope you like them," Asgore tells them, "but if you do not, feel free to let me know."

Taking one of the biscuits, Cody nibbles on the edges of it. Upon tasting the treat, their eyes light up, and then Cody proceeds to eat the entire thing in less than three bites. The next biscuit is devoured in a similar fashion. 

"I'm glad you enjoy them. Would you like some more?" 

Crumbs covering their face fly off as Cody nods her head furiously. "Yes, please!" 

He can't help but think that this reminds him of another child who would sneak down and steal away the entire jar of biscuits during the night, and attempt hide the evidence in their brother's bed.

"Can I have another?" Cody pipes up, and he heads back into the the kitchen, and comes back out with the small cookie jar. 

Cody's eyes widen. "Can I have  _all_ of them? Or most of them?"

"Perhaps that wouldn't be a good idea. Your stomach might hurt a lot."

They consider his words, then nods sagely. "Okay. Can I have two more, then?"

 

Asgore has known death, has witnessed it first hand. War leaves little room for compassion, and he has killed many humans in order to protect his people. Still, the truth remains that some of these humans were barely more than children themselves; to this day, their faces still haunt his dreams.

He thought he knew the true extent of loss, but he'd been wrong. Nothing could have ever prepared him for the feeling of utter helplessness of watching his children die in his arms. 

 

Humans killed his children.  

But...Chara had been human as well, and this makes all the difference.

Asgore doesn't want to think that humans are capable of goodness, wants to believe that Chara was the exception against the rule. Wants so badly to believe this, because then it would be much more simpler. Life would be easier if there was a clear divide between the two species in these terms. 

But he knows that isn't true, because even as the war waged on, there were humans who refused to fight, who used words instead of weapons and looked beyond themselves to offer compassion to those who should have been their enemies. He remembers being told of a soldier who lied to their commanding officer about a group of mothers and children hiding in the attic of an abandoned house, telling him that there was nobody there.

Of the doctor, who healed both humans and monsters alike, refusing payment each time, the group of peaceful protestors who rallied together to stop the war, all without resorting to violence. 

Even amongst the darkness, there still remained tiny specks of light and warmth, of kindness and steadfast morality. 

 

"If you don't mind me asking," Asgore begins, "how did you come to live with Pip and her daughter Evergreen?"

Cody beams back at him, clearly excited to share their story. "Evergreen found me! I was sleeping in the snow, and she woke me up. I was sick for a couple days, though, but now I'm better, I think!" 

"You think?" he asks, amused.

Nodding their head rapidly, Cody explains, "My nose is still all stoffed up and sometimes I sneeze and a bunch of snot comes out and sometimes there's blood and stuff. Wait, that was rude of me, my mom says its gross to talk about stuff like that but I must've forgotten, I'm sorry."

"It's alright," he reassures, standing up and placing a paw on their shoulder.  They grin at him, most likely relieved that he isn't mad.

Cody looks nothing at all like Chara did; their hair is much lighter, their eyes a bit more narrower. But for a moment, Chara's face looks back up at him through the other child's face.

Asgore blinks, and everything returns to normal. Cody's head is now tilted to the side in curiosity. 

"Are you alright, Mister Asgore? You look kinda sad."

He wants to say he's okay, but the words don't make it out the way he wants them to, because he instead says, "I'm not really sure anymore." And it's true, but the truth is a burden he never wants to place on another's back, let alone an innocent child's. 

Cody, wriggling out of the blanket, asks, "Do you want a hug?", looking down at their feet like they're prepared to have him turn them down, but also standing there like they're going to wait until he accepts said hug. 

He holds out his arms (after bending down first so he isn't looming over the small child), and young Cody hugs him tightly around the shoulders. "Hugs always make me feel a bit better," she informs the king. 

He does not want to kill this child, cannot bring himself to kill _Cody_ , and he knows that if he spares them now he will never be able to hurt any more children that happen to fall Underground. As the child hugs him tightly, he knows he has failed. He will never be able to do this, was a fool to ever think that he was strong enough to keep his promise. Yet there is a kind of relief that comes with this, knowing that this child will grow up, will love and been loved in return. Above all, Asgore will find a way to break the Barrier without killing anyone at all.

 

A few days later, Cody returns back to the house in Snowdin with a yellow flower for Evergreen and a homemade pie, as well as a bunch of stories about their time spent with the king and queen. 

"Ms. Toriel let me help her make her pies!" Cody tells Evergreen, whose eyes widen with jealousy and delight. 

"DId you get the secret recipe?" she asks, voice hopeful, but Cody is quick to tell her that they have no clue about any secret recipe.

(Evergreen spends the rest of the afternoon sulking, until Cody, fed up, throws a snowball at her, prompting an hour long snowball fight that all the kids of Snowdin end up joining. Both of them come home soaked.)

 

A year passes, then two. Cody goes to school with Evergreen, learns about monster history, and tries to use magic just as their friends can. Most of Cody's attempts end up in failure, but sometimes they can summon a pale blue light in their hand that lasts a few seconds. 

Seven more years pass by just as quickly, and by now the residents of Snowdin are so used to Cody that they often forget they're a human at all.  


	3. ten years old

Evergreen and Cody share a room, and that arrangement works out alright. Their bedroom is tiny, just barely big enough to fit two single beds inside, with about three feet in between them. There's enough space that either of them, lying down, can reach across to poke their sibling on their shoulder as they lie on the opposite bed. 

Sharing close quarters is a quick way to get to know someone. Evergreen, for example, learned that sometimes Cody talks in their sleep.

Most of it is just nonsense, but there are times where Cody says super freaky stuff in their sleep.

_"It's living in your skin."_

_"What? Cody?" Evergreen, sitting up in confusion, looks to Cody, still lying down in their bed._

_"I saw it. It's gonna eat your brain."_

The first time Evergreen heard something like this, she almost peed her pants in fright. 

 

Cody, on the other hand, quickly learned that Evergreen hates sleeping. 

"Sleep is  _boring_. You just lie there for hours and hours. Sleep is for the weak!"

(The last phrase was often Evergreen's retort when her mom made her go to bed. It didn't affect Pip in the slightest, who after ten years of living with her daughter, is well used to Evergreen's theatrics.)

When she was younger, Evergreen had to be literally dragged, kicking and screaming, into bed. Now all it takes is a few scoldings, but that doesn't mean she likes bedtime any more than she did when she was little.

Funnily enough, she never seems to mind sleeping when it comes to waking up the next morning. In fact, it's almost impossible to get her _out_ of bed.

It's kind of funny, actually.

Ever morning, Pip scolds Evergreen about having better sleeping habits.

_"You know," Pip says, as Evergreen's head pillowed on her pancake, "you wouldn't be so tired if you just went to sleep earlier."_

_"Mmmph."_

_"Are you ready, Cody?" she calls out to Cody, who's still in the shared bedroom._

_"I'm getting dressed!" Cody calls back. Suspicious, Pip shouts back,_

_"Do you need me to find you some pants?"_

_"No! No, I can find them."_

_Just as she suspected, when Pip goes to check on Cody, she finds they still haven't gotten out of bed._

Now, Pip drags them both out of bed. "I can't trust either one of you," she grumbles, but her tone, though exasperated, usually contains a hint of fondness.

 

They're in an submarine, trying to avoid being detected by the enemy. " _Czzt_ ," Cody says, (mimicking the sound of a walkie talkie), "this is Captain Awesome speaking. The hostages are within sight. Time to deploy the rescue missiles."

" _Czcht._ Roger that. Deploying Code Orange Team now!"

From underneath a blanket stretches between the two beds, a plastic figurine is carefully tossed into small bucket serving as the enemy submarine. " _Czzt."_ Evergreen, adopting a deeper voice, says, "I need backup! Send in the D.U.C.K!"

But before the Captain could send in the  **D.eep U.nderground oC.ean K.ombat, __** __the wall is pounded on with an annoyed fist.

"Go to sleep! It's two in the morning!"

 


	4. twelve years old pt. one

It starts off as a typical Monday morning. 

"Breakfast!" Pip, the mother of Evergreen and Cody, calls out. When this gathers no response, she tries again. "Cody! Evers! Time to get up! School starts in fifteen minutes!"

A loud groan comes from their room. "Nooooooo......Don't wanna..." Despite the protests, Evergreen shuffles into the dining room, fur mussed from sleep, yawning widely into one hand. "Pancakes?" she asks hopefully, slumping into a dining room chair. 

She shakes her head, even though her daughter can't see the motion with her head pillowed on the table. "Sorry, kid, no pancakes. Ran out of batter mix. Today's oatmeal day."

Evergreen sits up and prods at the oatmeal warily with a spoon. "Blegh," she complains, holding her nose and pretending to gag several times. 

Meanwhile, Pip gets out another ceramic bowl and begins scooping oatmeal into it, ignoring her daughter's theatrics. 

"So I guess Cody is still asleep," she comments, placing the second bowl of oatmeal down. "And stop doing that, you might make yourself throw up for real."

"No, Cody's awake," Evergreen says through a yawn. "They were sitting up...but they didn't say anything to me." Stealthily, Evergreen begins to push the oatmeal away from her. 

"Cody?" Pip calls, "It's time to get up!"

No response.

"I better go check on them." Turning to face her daughter, she warns Evergreen, "Don't even think about putting your oatmeal in Cody's bowl. Just take a couple of bites, they won't kill you," before heading out of the room. Behind her she hears a muttered, _"Says you."_

One day, she's really going to need to have a talk with Evergreen about manners.

 

Cody is sitting on their bed, sheet pulled over their entire body. "Cody? Are you alright?"

Aside from a muffled, "Mmpph," her child doesn't say anything. 

Sitting carefully on the end of the bed, she asks gently, "Cody? Are you feeling sick?"

"Mmph. No." They sound irritated now. "I dunno."

"MOOOOMM!" Evergreen calls out loudly. "I CAN'T FIND MY SHOES!"

"Did you check by the front door?"

"YES!"

"Then check under the table!"

"OKAY!"

Cody is now curled up, facing the wall. "Are you okay?"

"...I'm not going to school."

"Why not?"

"I hate school, and you can't make me go back. You can't make me do anything." 

Now annoyed, Pip says, in a less friendlier tone than she would have liked, "Cody, school's important."

"No, it's not!" Cody wails, "You just want me to go because you  _hate_ me!" They then dissolve into noisy sobs, tightly clutching their knees to their chest. "And-and, I hate it here, I wanna go home!"

"I don't hate you-" Pip starts, but is silenced by Cody's cry of, "Yes you do! The other kids said Evergreen's dad was  _killed_ by humans, and I'm human!"

Scooping them into her lap, Pip rocks them back and forth, waiting for them to calm down. "Mom?" 

Evergreen is standing by the door, clutching a single shoe, looking worried. "Cody?"

Cody is still sobbing. Rubbing their back, Pip hums softly, and eventually her child seems to tire themselves out. "I could never, ever, hate you. Never doubt that for a second. You're my kid, and I'll love you no matter what."

"Even if I become a serial killer?" Cody sniffs.

"Even if you become a serial killer."


	5. twelve years old pt. two

Cody likes going to the Monster School. They've loved learning since day one, and make sure to always sit in the front row during class.

(Sitting in the front also proves to be helpful on the days Cody forgets to bring their glasses to school with them.) 

Evergreen is less enthused about school, mostly because class starts, in Evergreen's words, "Waaaaaay too early." So, Evergreen usually sits behind Cody and sometimes takes a short nap during class- Cody, going through a recent growth spurt, is tall enough to (unintentionally on Cody's part) hide her from view of the teacher.

Ms. Fennec does her best to make each lesson as fun as possible, but Evergreen finds it hard to focus on subjects she isn't interested in. Case in point, history. 

During this particular history lecture, Evergreen tunes out, sketching out several invention ideas in her notebook. She's managed to get her paws on a rollerblade, maybe if she takes off the wheels and attaches springs to the bottom she'll be able to creating a boot that will let the wearer jump super high. Then she'll just need to find another rollerblade and repeat the process. 

But what kind of spring would work best? And how many would she need?

Tapping the eraser end against her cheek, Evergreen sighs. 

Class is especially boring today, she thinks to herself, but as the teacher continues talking she notices something weird. Everyone in the class seems to be looking at her out of the corner of their eyes. 

Except, no, they're not looking at her, they're looking at Cody. 

Weird.

Slumping down on the desk, she stares at the few notes she's managed to jot down. 

_Monsters vs Humans war_

_conflict between souls_

_human souls stronger than monster souls_

Maybe she'll be able to look at Cody's notes later...

 

When Cody walked into school, they hadn't know then that it would be one of their worst day ever.

It didn't start off bad, mom even made blueberry pancakes, Cody's favorite, and to top it all off, they'd managed to find their glasses in time. 

Evergreen was far less cheerful, but she's never liked waking up early to begin with, and is always a grouch in the morning, anyways.

 

The walk to school isn't far, but somehow both of them end up almost late every single time.

This time was no different. 

By this point, Ms. Fennec is used to her two students' antics, and doesn't even look up from her book. The other students are already there, some sitting in their desks, others leaning over them to talk to their friends. 

Evergreen weakly waves to a pair of twin lizard monsters, Ell and Lle, who wave back. 

Ms. Fennec, a rather tall cactus monster, calls, "Alright, class is starting. Everyone to your seats. Today is a much more serious class than usual, for we are going to learn about the War between Monsters and Humans."

Sitting in the middle first row, Cody's shoulders stiffen slightly. 

"What does everyone know about the War?" she asked, and before being called on, the student next to Cody stands up and exclaims,"It happened a long time ago," before settling down in their seat once more. 

"Well, yes, that is true," the teacher answers, "but that's not the most important part. Does anyone know how the War began?"

No one says anything. Ell hesitantly raises one of their leaves. "Um...was it because of...um...well, humans?" 

Cody wants to disappear, wants to hide away somewhere and never come out. They know everyone is looking at them but trying not to.

Ms. Fennec sighs. "Some humans may have been the cause of the War, that is correct. But remember, not every human is like that. Some humans can still be kind and compassionate."

"Like Cody?" Lle asks, and Ms. Fennec nods. 

 

Maybe that was meant to be a compliment, but somehow...it isn't. 

_Some humans can be kind and compassionate...(despite the fact that they're all evil on the inside.)_

A few of their classmates still don't look convinced. 

Cody wishes the ground would swallow them whole. 


	6. thirteen years old

My mom wore red lipstick.

Every morning, before she went to work, she would apply a fresh layer of  _Cinnamon Rose_ , her hand always steady. When she came to pick me up from school, her lipstick was never smudged. 

She let me practice my makeup skills on her face, as well as braid her hair. She had brown hair, like mine, only hers was long and usually kept in a bun. 

One day she didn't pick me up from school, my dad did. He said she wasn't feeling well. She was in the hospital, he said. 

Whenever we went to see her, the nurses and doctors would say she was in the best place possible. It didn't really look like the best place. The walls were a sickly green color, the white tile floors reflected back the harsh ceiling lights, and there was a lingering smell of antiseptic that made my nose burn. 

Mom looked so fragile in the hospital bed that I was afraid to hug her too hard, because I thought she would break. 

Her hair began to fall out. 

One day, I came into the room and she smiled at me. "Hey, Cody, I have an idea. Why don't you cut my hair?" 

So I gave her a haircut. It was a lot of fun. 

 

The next day, mom wasn't there anymore. Everyone kept saying she was in a better place, which didn't make sense, because I thought they'd already said she was in the best place. Did this mean that there was a  _better_ better place?

I asked my dad when we could go visit her in this better place, but he didn't say anything.

It's wasn't until later that I realized that when people talked about the better place, they meant it in a metaphorical sense instead of a literal one.


	7. sixteen years old

"I'm not sure this is a safe idea," Cody whispers, sitting on a flat wooden board perched precariously on the top of a slanted roof. Evergreen, seated behind Cody, pats them on the back in an attempt to be reassuring. It doesn't help calm Cody's nerves at all, in fact, it only makes the board they're sitting on tilt even more in both directions. 

"Don't worry. You said you did this on the Surface, right?"

As the board wobbles, Cody can't help but wonder if they remembered how exactly sledding worked on the Surface. It has been nearly seven years, after all. 

"This doesn't feel right, Evergreen!" they whisper-shout back, trying not to move, lest the board tip in any direction. 

"We can do this!" her sibling cheers, before pushing them both off. 

_w h o o s h_

Down they go the steep slope, faster than a greased pig on a slide covered in butter. Both of them scream so loud that the windows of the abandoned house rattle and shake. 

They shoot off the roof and going flying through the air, straight for the ground. 

**CRASH**

Luckily for the both of them, they ended up landing in a large snowpoff. 

No harm, no foul.

 

"...and that's what happened!" Evergreen explained nervously to her fuming mother, a large lump slowly forming on her forehead. "But, we're both okay, right Cody?"

Cody nods in agreement, despite the fact that blood is still trickling from a cut on their nose, and their face is covered in scratches that came from a close encounter with a branch.

Pip looks at them both in disbelief.

"You're clearly not okay! You both could have died! That was the stupidness thing I've ever heard of in my entire life!" As she scolds them, she begins to also heal the pair with green magic, scowling all the while. 

"We didn't think-" Evergreen begins, only to get jabbed sharply in the ribs by Cody. "Don't say anything else, mom's mad enough as it is," they mouth to her.

Evergreen sighs. Her idea had been foolproof.


	8. eighteen years old

Ever since they were old enough to read, Cody has always liked curling up with a good book. Evergreen also likes reading as well, though she finds it harder to sit still and concentrate on one thing at a time.

The Snowdin Librarby is like a second home to Cody. In fact, that's the first place the monsters look if they need to find them. 

There's not too much work to do at the Librarby, and every book there Cody has read cover-to-cover so much that they can recite each story from memory alone. 

Strictly put, Cody is bored. Slumping over in their chair, Cody stares at the shelves gloomily. 

Just then, the front door slams open with a mighty  _slam!_

Nearly jumping out of their skin, they whirl around on their spinning chair, already knowing who's standing in the doorway. 

"Evers, the door's going to fall off one day." Cody scolds, doing their best to sound like their mother, and failing. 

Evergreen's grin stretches wide across her face. "Hey, Cody! You said you were bored, right? Right? Well...I found something cool. Wanna see?"   
Before Cody can answer, Evergreen pulls out a thin, waterlogged book from their backpack. Dropping the book on the desk with a light  _thunk_ , Evergreen explains, "Some guys found it in the dump. Whoever wrote this had really weird handwriting, and it's really hard to read. So no one really knows what the book's about, but I thought maybe you'd like to give it a try."

The cover of the book is dark red, with no title or author's name on the front.

 "Looks interesting. Thanks, Evers." 

"You're welcome!"

 

The first hurdle that Cody comes across is that a bunch of pages are stuck together, impossible to open without tearing, which would ruin it even more.

Whoever wrote this book had tiny, cursive handwriting, written in a ink pen, and in some areas the pages are impossible to read due to ink splatter. 

In a stroke of luck, the book had been found wrapped up in a plastic material, which protected the book from completely being water damaged. 

Over dinner, Cody explains their theories about the author of said book. "I was thinking about when the book was written," they say, absentmindedly twirling the fork in their hand like a conductor's baton, "it's hard to figure out how old this book is, because I'm not sure if the pages are yellowed from water damage or because they're old."

Their mother, Pip, asks curiously, "Do you have the book with you right now?" 

"Yeah," Cody responds easily, "it's in my bag. Wanna see it?"

"After dinner. You really should eat more vegetables, you know." 

Picking up a single piece of lettuce, Cody warily places it in their mouth. Chews slowly. When the leafy green is gone, Cody pushes the plate away with a cheeky grin. "Done."

Pip sighs. It's a familiar song and dance routine the pair have done over the entire time Cody has lived with them. Still, she probably would faint dead from shock the day Cody willingly ate something healthy without being prodded to do so first. 

After dinner, Cody pulls out the small book, holding it carefully in their hands. Placing it on the cleared-off table, they tell Pip, "Some of the pages are stuck together, don't force it."

Swatting her child affectionately on their forehead at the comment that Pip wouldn't be careful, she then opens the book with exaggerated slowness. Cody sighs, but doesn't say anything more. 

**Pip: 1  Cody: 0**

 Staring at the tiny handwriting, Pip frowns slightly. "Whoever wrote this had neat handwriting, they definitely went to a school that taught cursive writing." Flipping through the book, she stops at a certain page. "This one seems to be the most clear. I think we might be able to translate it first."

 

"Do you think this is a 'c' or an 'e', mom?"

Squinting down at the page, Pip shrugs. "What are the letters next to it?"

"The same letter. I'm pretty sure the word starts with an 's', though."

Flipping through the dictionary, Pip stops at the 'S' section. "It might be the letter 'e'. Maybe the word is 'seep', or 'sleep', or 'sheep', we'll need to translate the other words for context clues."

So far, they've written down:

**I ______ ('seep', 'sheep', 'sleep'). No one can, ('new', 'now') a days.**

 

It takes them another few days for them to agree on what the first sentence says.

_**I cannot sleep. No one can, nowadays.**_

By the end of the month, they have a vague idea of what the first paragraph says.

 

_**I cannot sleep. No one can, nowadays.** _

_**Even during the day, there is no safe place to rest our heads.** _

_**Hector says the war will end soon. "We do not have to fight each other. We can win without any more death or destruction," he says, voice brimming with conviction. "Both sides will eventually realize that war isn't the answer, but not without our support."** _

_**He is a coward, others say behind his back, even to his face at times. I am starting to believe them more and more. I stand up for him, because he is my brother, but sometimes I think that he has gone insane. If it were not for the fact that he is the strongest among us all, I'm sure the others would have turned on him a long time ago.**_

_**He wasn't always like this. I still remember how he used to fight, how he was able to turn off all emotions in order to succeed. Hector hasn't been the same since the village burned. It's all part of war, but he's too soft now. The enemy is vicious, killing without mercy. They have no compassion for the weak or helpless.** _

_**It's not like I enjoy killing. But I have no other choice. None of us do.** _

 

Both of them have agreed that this is a journal, written during some kind of conflict. It isn't until they translate the next page do they realize what war it was. It was the war between humans and monsters, written by an unnamed monster soldier.

Cody searches the record books for a soldier named Hector, and finds nothing. Pip isn't surprised. 

"Near the end of the war, there simply wasn't enough time, as tragic as it was."

 

**_A village was caught in the crossfire. I don't think there were any survivors. Hector hasn't spoken a single word since then._ **

**_Before we left, I saw him stand in front of the remains of what had been a bakery, run by an elderly monster and human couple._ **

**_I didn't think they were capable of love until now. Or maybe I always knew but I didn't want to believe it._**

****

As they continue translating the journal, Pip explains more about the Monster and Human War.

"I'd been young at the time when the fighting began, barely out of wearing stripes. During those early days, there were still towns where humans and monsters lived together. Most of them eventually turned on one another, but I remember hearing about a place where there was still peace amongst the two species, even when the war really took off."

"You mean they didn't turn on each other? What happened to the village, then?"

Pip sighs. "There was a battle...human soldiers razed it to the ground."

"That was a dumb question, wasn't it? I'm sorry."

Wrapping her arms around her child, Pip whispers, "It's not your fault."

"Mom? Cody?" 

It's Evergreen. For once, she's opened the door silently.

Cody remembers the first time they properly met Evergreen, them lying in bed, Evergreen cautiously peeking around the doorway to Mom's room. 

Sometimes in life there are people you just look at and know,  _this is someone who could become a precious person to me._ A kind of connection that's difficult to describe, impossible to understand.

Not all bonds are born this way, but there's something that comes from saving someone's life that created a link between the two. 

Pip holds out an arm, saying, "Come on, join the hug party." 

After a few long seconds of hugging, Cody begins squirming. "I have to go to the bathroom," they announce quietly, and the hug is broken up. Evergreen giggles. 

"Cooooodyyyyy, why do you have to keep ruining the moment?" she teases. "We were BONDING."

From the bathroom, Cody calls back, "Don't talk to me, I can't concentrate," which sets Evergreen off into another fit of giggles.

Pip presses a paw against her mouth, trying to hide her smile. It's not that Evergreen is  _that_ funny, but she and Cody have a way of working off of each other that help make things less serious. 

 

 

The very last page of the journal had become illegible, so neither of them were able to read the very last entry. 

If they had, here is what they would have read:

 

~~_**Hector.** _ ~~ ~~~~

~~_**I'm so sorry** _ ~~

  ~~ ** _It was all my fault._**~~

_~~~~**I knew one day it would happen. He was too ~~kind~~   ~~~~ ~~naive~~  to survive. I hate him. He was stupid and naive and I miss him so much and he's DEAD and it's my fault I should have madee him see the truth, should have tried harder. Maybe then he wouldn't be lying cold in the ground. There is no way that anyone on the other side is good, not when my brother, who defended them up until his death, was killed by them even though he had laid his weapon down upon the ground. The monsters have no compassion, no love, no sense of decency. ** _

_**They will all pay for this. I don't care who gets in the way. Not anymore. Pacifism is rolling over and allowing yourself to die, and I won't let that happen to anyone else I love.** _

_**-William** _


	9. fifteen years old

**the secrets we keep**

For Cody's birthday, they get a blank journal to write or draw whatever they want inside. The spiral bound notebook doesn't have a lock, but no one except Evergreen is interested in the contents, and she knows how to pick locks already, so having a lock wouldn't be useful. Instead, Cody hid it in a secret place so no one could ever find it. This annoyed Evergreen greatly.

"C'mon, please? Just a peek?" Widening her eyes, she does her best adorable pout. From the weird expression Cody gives her, obviously the cute face approach is a flop. 

"No way. Get your own diary." Cody crosses their arms firmly across their chest. 

But Evergreen is stubborn, and hates being left out by her sibling. If  _Evergreen_ had a journal, she would've let Cody see it. She tells Cody as such. 

"I don't have to tell you everything!" Cody's voice is now more than a little irritated. "Just forget about it, okay? Stop being so annoying!" 

"Fine, I didn't want to read your stupid diary, anyway." Evergreen says, all but stomping away.

"Fine!" Cody calls to Evergreen's back, determined to get the last word in. 

Their bedroom door slams shut behind her. 

 

Flopping herself on the bed, Evergreen growls irritably. "Stupid Cody," she mumbles, "what kind of secrets can you have  _anyway_?"   

(Years later, she will able to look at this with a different perspective, and realize that everyone deserves a part of themselves that they'd like to keep tucked away, something that they don't want to share with the world. Right now, however, all she can think is that Cody doesn't trust her, and that leaves nothing but a sour taste in her mouth and the feeling that her soul is twisting in half.)

 

 

**stopping by the woods on a snowy evening**

At the dining room table, Cody and Evergreen sit and reluctantly complete their homework. Leaning on one hand, Cody appears to be the ever diligent student, but really they're almost fast asleep. Years of experience has taught Cody how to fall asleep in class without the teacher's notice. All it really takes is half-leaning on one elbow to give the impression of a relaxed, but still paying attention, student. 

Frustrated with her lack of progress, Evergreen pokes Cody on the arm with her pencil. "Cody, I need your brain. Poetry is the worst. How am I supposed to write a poem when none of them make sense? I'm bored." 

When Cody fails to respond, Evergreen pokes them again with her pencil. "Just write down whatever you want, jot down ideas and stuff. Then you'll be able to fit together something more polished," Cody advises with a sigh. 

Evergreen stares down at her paper as though she's trying to set it on fire with her mind. Since she doesn't know any fire magic, nothing happens. Apparently her mom thought she "wasn't mature enough yet."

"What did you write, anyway?" Evergreen finally asks. Cody pushes a piece of paper towards her.

 

_little things stack up_

_to form a giant castle_

_standing on a hill_

"I don't get it."

"You're not supposed to get it, I think. Anyway, it's more of a feeling with this one. Plus, it's a haiku, so I couldn't fit that much in it."

"Sounds complicated." Evergreen pushes the paper back to Cody, feeling even more defeated. "I'm going to take a break." Standing up, she all but makes a dash for the front door, slamming it shut behind her. 

Cody fully rests her head on the table, and quicky dozes off. 

 

Being outside always helps Evergreen feel better. She's gotten really good at the Ball Game over the years, and pretty much almost always gets the high score every time. But today she doesn't feel like playing anything at all. 

Crunching through the freshly fallen snow, all she can think about is the dumb poem she has to write. That, and the fact that she should have brought her scarf. Her face is really cold, even when she hunches over and lets the collar of her coat come over part of her chin.

Snow is lazily floating down, and she tries to catch a flake on her tongue. 

It doesn't taste like anything at all.

Sometimes thoughts feel like snowflakes in her paws, everytime she tries to catch one, it melts away before she can form them into an idea. 

Maybe she can write something about the weather? Or maybe even a tree?

 

_the tree is green_

_the leaves are green_

_the snow is white_

_goodnight_

 

She sighs. Writing is hard. She might as well use the poem she just came up with off the top of her head. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is a bit looser than the others, more about Evergreen than Cody. But I also wanted to show Evergreen's relationship with Cody.   
> So, here it is.


	10. sixteen years old

Cody can't sleep. 

The pillow is too warm, and they keep flipping it over and over, trying to get it cool, only for that side to get too warm just a few seconds later. The blankets are a heavy weight, yet when they shrug them off they feel exposed and cold. 

Across from Cody, Evergreen sleeps soundly, nose twitching as she snores softly. Their sister usually fights sleep, taunts it like a boxer with a broken nose lying on the ground about to be called out by the referee for the match to end, who's already lost, but despite this is still trying to get back up and punch her opponent right in the face. Once Evergreen falls asleep, though, she's out.

A fight could probably break out in the room and their sister probably wouldn't even twitch. It's actually kind of freaky how still Evergreen is in sleep, when while awake she's usually a whirlwind of motion, always thinking a mile a minute. 

 

Cody's tried lying in various positions, they've curled up in the center of the bed with the blankets around them like a nest, they've tried sleeping without their pillow, and right now they're lying with their feet where their head usually rests.   
Nothing's working. 

It's so annoying, because it's not like Cody isn't tired or anything, in fact, their eyelids feel heavy and their brain is starting to ache from being awake for too long. 

What's worse is that every moment Cody is awake means that they won't get enough sleep, and then they're going to be tired the next day and might fall asleep in the morning and not wake up until it's time for bed, not only wasting an entire day but continuing the cycle of awful sleeping patterns. That sort of stress isn't helping a lot, either. 

(Not only that, but Cody's mind keeps going back to all the embarrassing things they've done over the years, like the time they accidentally called their teacher 'dad' or when they peed their pants in public while on a class trip. Both of these events happened on the Surface, but despite this, Cody still cringes from embarrassment.) 

So, Cody gets out of bed, pads on silent feet to the kitchen to get a glass of water. When Cody gets there, however, the light is already on, and their mom is sitting at the kitchen table with a mug of tea in front of her. 

"Hey, Cody. Couldn't sleep either? Why don't you pull out a chair and sit with me?" Pip asks, before taking a sip of her drink. Cody goes at sits across from their mom, who then asks, "Do you want some tea? Apparently this brand is good for insomnia." 

"Okay, I guess." 

Pip pushes the mug over to Cody's side. Picking it up, they take a tentative sip. The tea doesn't taste that bad, but it's got a weird minty flavor that leaves an odd aftertaste in their mouth. "It's okay, I guess." 

They push the mug back over to Pip, who smiles softly. "It's okay if you don't like it. Do you feel more tired, though?"

Cody considers the question for a moment. "I don't know," they finally answer, shrugging one shoulder while tracing a invisible pattern on the wooden table with their finger. 

"Is this the first time you've had trouble sleeping?"

"No, it happens a lot, but it usually isn't this bad. My mouth tastes like leaves now." Getting up from their chair, Cody pours themself a glass of water from the tap. 

"Well, that's what tea is usually made of. Aside from that, why didn't you mention earlier that you were having problems falling asleep?"

"I thought it would get better. I figured I didn't need to ask for help because it was just something I could wait out. Didn't want to bother you." Cody goes to sit back in their chair, leaving their glass of barely drunken water by the sink. 

Going around the table, Pip places a paw on Cody's back. "You could never bother me, Cody. I love you, and that means I want to help you when you're struggling with something. Even if you think it isn't important, don't be afraid to come to me."

"Okay. Mom?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you think anyone noticed when I left? On the Surface? Do you think my family remembers me?"

Surprised, Pip asks, "Why wouldn't they?"

Cody shrugs. "Aunt Missy already had six kids by the time I went to live with her and Uncle George. When dad left me at their house, uncle said he already had too many mouths to feed already, and he wanted to send me back. But my dad was already gone by then. I wasn't really their family, cause Aunt Missy was the sister of my dad's ex-wife, so they didn't have to let me live with them, but they did anyway."

"My dear...I'm so sorry." 

"It's fine, I guess." Cody says, but their voice gives them away. "My dad...he was in the paper the next day. It said he drove his car over a bridge. My cousin Marvey said he wasn't surprised, cause if he had to live with me for that long he would have done the same thing. I didn't tell anyone then. I don't know why I'm telling you now. It was a long time ago, it's not like it's important now."

"Cody, look at me. It wasn't your fault, and you didn't deserve to live with such awful people. And it's alright to be upset, because that kind of hurt isn't something that can be soothed away with a few words. You have every right to feel upset, angry, or betrayed. I know from experience."

Cody's face crumples. "Why did he leave me? Did he even care? Was it...was it because of me?"

Pip wraps her arms around them. "I don't know why, but I know this for certain, from the stories you've told me over the years, he loved you so much. And he loved your mom so much as well. Sometimes grief can...well, I know for certain that it wasn't because of you. I promise. You didn't do anything wrong." 

Getting out of their chair, Cody hugs Pip tightly. "Thanks, mom. Love you."

"I love you too. Do you want to sleep in my room tonight?"

"Okay. Promise you won't leave me?"

"Promise."


	11. twenty years old

Cody moved out of their home at nineteen, a decision they'd thought over carefully. It hadn't been easy, but Cody wanted to try being independent for a little bit, and so they packed up their belongings and moved...to the abandoned house in Snowdin. Not very far at all, but still.  _Independence._

Evergreen, on the other hand, found this annoying. "You're barely moving at all! Sheesh, why don't you just stay here, instead of moving across town."

"Look, I just want to try," Cody had said. "I want to see if I can do this. Besides, like you said, I'm not going to be that far. It's not like we're never going to see each other again. Even if I moved to New Home, which I'm not, it's not that far, relatively speaking." 

"I'm still going to miss you," Evergreen admitted quietly. It didn't take long, however, for her mood to change into something more cheerful.

"Then again, it might be nice to get back all the extra space you took when you moved into our room." Evergreen playfully teased. Cody grinned back, and told their sibling that things wouldn't be that different, since Evergreen already took up most of the bedroom space already. 

"Stop being a butt, Cody." Evergreen replied, voice deadpan, before bursting into a fit of giggles.

 

Cody moves into the same house that they and Evergreen tried sledding on back when they were both sixteen and fifteen respectively. Looking back, Cody is surprised they didn't break any of their bones, or even worse, get killed. 

_Here lies Cody, who died doing something stupid their sister peer-pressured them into doing._

What an embarrassing way to go.

 

Cody now officially works at the Librarby, translating old books and writing short stories and poems. Right now they've in the middle of a book that that they plan to put in the Librarby when they finish.

The plan was originally to write a hundred page book, but now Cody might settle down for just fifteen or twenty pages instead. Or even ten. 

It's about a kid who falls into a well and wakes up as a fish. Then they find an underwater world that the well is connected to, and they go on an adventure.

 

**"I''m not a fish," Gabby corrected, "I'm a human who got turned into a fish, and I need to turn back."**

**"You look like a fish to me," their acquaintance said doubtfully. "You have fins and a tail, and you even have gills. You don't look like a human at all. Are you sure you're not a fish?"**

**"I'm sure I'm not a fish. I wasn't born a fish, I was born human." Gabby explained, and the frog looked confused.**

**"I was born a tadpole, but that doesn't mean I'm still one. Maybe it's just a normal part of life for you, too."**

Cody's at home, drinking a mug of tea (over the years, they've gotten used to the taste,) when there's a knock at the door. "I'm coming!" they call, pushing stacks of books out of their way.

From behind the door, an unfamiliar voice asks, "Is this where the human lives?"

Cody opens the door to see a kid standing on the porch. "Hi, lady-sir! You are human, ain't ya? I'm human too! I'm Casey. Nice to meet you."

Spitting into their right palm, she holds out her hand for Cody to shake.


	12. yellow soul (justice) part one

No matter how loud Casey yells up, James doesn't answer. She must have fallen a really long way, but not too far, otherwise she'd be dead or injured. And she's not dead, as far as she can tell, and apart from a couple scrapes on her knees, Casey isn't injured. 

"JAMES! IT'S OKAY, I'M NOT DEAD YET!" she bellows at the top of her lungs. "STAY THERE, I'M GOING TO CLIMB UP!"

"Golly! You sure have a set of lungs on you!" A cheerful voice rings out from behind her. 

Whirling around, Casey has her grandpappy's gun aimed directly at...a yellow flower with a face? 

"Sheesh!" Now the flower is frowning. "You don't have to be so violent!"

Sheepishly, Casey lowers the gun. "You came up right behind me!" she protests, and the when the flower's expression doesn't change, Casey sheepishly adds, "I'm sorry I pointed a gun at you, Mister Flower."

The frown disappears, and is now replaced with a sunny smile. "It's okay! My name's Flowey. Flowey the Flower. What's yours?"

"I'm Casey, but most people call me Chief. Um....I don't mean ta' be rude or nothing, it's just that...where am I, anyway? An', how come you can talk if you're a flower?"

"Golly! I almost forgot! You're in the Underground!" Flowey says in a bubbly voice. Casey tilts her head to side slightly. "Home of the Monsters!" Flowey continues, when Casey still gives him a blank stare. 

"Ohhhhh....." 

"You're new here, I can tell. Why don't I show you the ropes?" Flowey winks at her. Casey gives Flowey a thumbs up.

"Thanks, Mr. Flowey, but um-"

Then Casey is surrounded in darkness.

"What the!"

There's a yellow heart in front of her chest. Casey reaches out to poke it.

"That's your SOUL! The culmination of your entire being!" Flowey exclaims. "Also, don't touch your SOUL." The cheerful flower is still planted across from her, but all the color has drained away, leaving nothing but white lines filled with blank, black space. 

"Whasa cul-men-mation?" Casey asks, slowly spelling the word out loud. 

Flowey sighs, and for a moment, a flash of annoyance crosses his face. "It's what makes you, you."

"Got it!"

Another thumbs up, followed by finger gun motions, complete with the 'pew' 'pew' sound effects.

"Looks like you have a yellow soul, which is the color of JUSTICE. Not only that but your LV is one. That's a shame." Flowey droops a little in disappointment. 

"What? Why? Am I gonna DIE?" Casey wails, but is quickly silenced when Flowey laughs.

"No, silly! LV stands for LOVE, and all you need is to get more LOVE. I can give you some." 

A small white pellet flies toward Casey's soul, but at the very last moment, her soul involuntarily jumps out of the way. "I'm sorry! Um....hang on, I think I can try it again."

"No problem!" Flowey's cheerful voice is now a bit colder, but he winks, tongue sticking out, before continuing, "Try and keep your soul still."

"How do I do that? Can you show me with yours?" 

"..."

  ***Flowey has retreated into the soil.**

Everything turns back to normal. Looking around anxiously, Casey can't find Flowey anywhere. 

"Flowey? Are you...was it something I said? Flowey? I'm sorry!"

But there is no response. Pushing her hat over her eyes, Casey sinks to the ground, wrapping her arms around her legs. Now that Flowey is gone, the silence seems even more oppressive.

"JAMIE! MAMA! HELP ME!" Casey wails, sobbing into her knees.

But no one comes. 

After a while, she's cried herself out. Wiping a dirt-stained hand across her eyes, she gets up shakily. "I can do this," Casey says, "because I ain't a coward. I'm a sheriff, and that means I gotta be strong. I'm gonna find a way out, and then save Jamie." Then, tipping her head back, she shouts as loudly as she can, "JAMIE! I'M GOING TO GET OUT! DON'T WORRY! ONCE I GET OUT, I'LL LEAD US BACK DOWN THE MOUNTAIN!"

Steeling her courage, Casey tilts her beloved cowboy hat upwards, leaving the patch of flowers behind as she marches into the Ruins.

 


	13. part two

Casey stares up at the other human. "You're real tall," she says without hesitation. "How old are you, mister-lady Cody? I'm seven and a half." 

Cody's smile is a bit bewildered. "I'm twenty one," they answer, and Casey's eyes grow wide. 

"Woah. I wish I was a grown up, too. Then I could become a real sheriff." Shifting from one foot to the other, Casey asks, "Can I come in? I gotta pee real bad."

"Oh! Sorry about that." Cody sheepishly rubs the back of their neck. "Follow me."

 

While Casey uses the bathroom, Cody quickly texts their sibling. 

 

**me: evers there's another human here. a kid. says there name is casey.**

_Ping!_

**evergreen: Yeah, I know. I told them where you lived.**

**me: why didn't u come over then?**

**evergreen: they said they wanted to go by themselves. Also, it's *their**

**me: i know, i know. sheesh.**

**not the point anyway**

**they're in the bathroom now**

**what should i do?**

**evergreen: feed them?**

 

There's not much food left in the cupboards aside from a lonely bottle of ketchup and some oatmeal mix. "Hey, kid? How do you feel about oatmeal?" they call.

The toilet flushes, and through the sound of running water, Casey responds, "It's okay, I guess. Does it have dinosaurs in it?" 

Cody looks back at the box, confused. "No? What do you mean by dinosaurs?"

"They're marshmallows that kind of look like dinosaurs, sort of." 

The sink turns off. 

"Sorry, it's just plain oatmeal."

"That's okay," Casey reassures, entering the kitchen with only a slight look of disappointment. "My mom doesn't buy stuff like that, either. Is that because you're a grown up?"

Pouring the mix into a pot, Cody raises an eyebrow. "What, you think that adults don't like sugar? Not true. My sister would eat her entire weight in candy if she could. Here, why don't you take a seat at the counter."

"You have a sister? Me too!" Casey exclaims, excited at the shared connection. "She's a police officer. She has a cool badge, and she fights bad guys. Are they older than you?"

"We're about the same age." Ladling the oatmeal into a ceramic bowl, they push it over to Casey. "Blow on it first, it's kind of hot."

Casey does so, before poking the oatmeal hesitantly with her spoon. Taking a small amount, she tries some and smiles.

After Casey's finished more than half of the bowl, Cody asks, "So, Casey, how'd you get here?"

Swallowing, Casey answers sheepishly, "I tripped and fell. My shoelaces keep untying by themselves and I'm still learning how to tie them."

Their expression turns serious. "It's real nice of you to help me out, but I have to get going. Jamie needs me. He's afraid of the dark. Don't tell him I said that, I pinky-swore not to, but I have to get out of here. Do you have another exit that I can use?"

A lump forms in Cody's throat. They'd tried to forget about this. "Casey..." They twist their hands together. "Did anyone tell you about how the Monsters became trapped Underground?"

Casey twiddles her thumbs. "You guys are trapped, right? I can help! Is the Barrier a giant wall? I bet we can knock it down with a hammer or something."

Looking directly into Casey's eyes, Cody shakes their head. "No, it's a magic border. No one can pass. I'm so sorry."

It takes a moment for Casey to register this. "I told you, I gotta get out of here. Jamie needs me. An'...an' nothing or nobody's going to stop me!" Knocking the bowl over, she rushes out of the room. 


	14. part three

Casey Woods has always been small for her age. At school, she's almost a full head shorter than the tallest kid in her class, and always has a spot right in the middle for class photos. 

Despite this, Casey is fast on her feet, and in P.E she usually wins at any sport that involves sprinting.

Casey is very good at running.

So she runs and she runs and she runs and all she can hear is the sound of her heartbeat pounding in her chest, the thud and squish of every step she makes on the snowy ground. Barreling at top speed, monsters leap out of the way to avoid being tackled, and some are sprayed with flying snow. But Casey doesn't notice any of this, too focused on running away. 

She sprints through Snowdin and high speed, and only after she gets past the outskirts does she collapse on the ground with a soft crunch-thud.

She should get up. 

Keep moving.

But everything hurts and she's sobbing and she's not a baby but now she's  _acting_ like one, and...and....

"You okay? You don't look too good." It sounds like an older kid, so she pushes herself upwards to look at the monster. "I'm Kir. You look like Cody, kind of. Are you a human, too? That's cool. Are you hurt? I can get you some candy if you want." 

Kir looks kind of like a badger, but with longer limbs and two striped tails that wave back and forth as he talks. There are two tufts of blond fur over each eye, making him look like he's thinking deeply about something. 

He helps her off the ground, and she quickly wipes her arm across her face so that Kir can't see that she was crying just now. Some boogeys get smeared on her shirt. 

From behind, she hears a shout growing louder and louder. "CASEY!"

It's Cody. 

In no short time, Cody is standing next to Casey, their arm on her shoulder. Casey squirms, but Cody grips on loosely in a way that Casey knows will get tighter if she tries running away. 

"Hi Cody!" Kir says, beaming. "I just finished the book you gave me, it was really cool! Are you going to put it in the Librarby? I mean, Library?"

"Maybe. Look, I can't really talk right now, but I'll be around later with Evergreen, she says she has a surprise for you."

"Woah! A surprise!" 

"Yeah, Evergreen seemed pretty pumped about it. Anyway, I need to talk with Casey about...human stuff. See you later, short stack."

 

Back inside Cody's house, they hand her some towels. "Here, why don't I run a shower for you, then I can get you something less wet to wear. You remember where the bathroom is, right?"

Casey nods, sullenly. 

 

The bathroom walls are painted pee yellow, and some of it is chipping. The floor is tiled, made up of tiny blue hexagons. 

The shower is the kind that also has a bathtub in it, so she sits down and lets the water wash over her head. There's some shampoo and stuff, but Casey already had a bath last week so she doesn't need to clean her hair that much. 

There's a knock at the door. "Are you okay? Can I come in?" 

Casey turns off the shower, but doesn't get out of the tub. "No. I'm not wearing anything."

"Okay, I'm leaving clothes on the door handle. Feel free to use any of the towels, if you don't like the ones I gave you, I just washed all of them last night so they're good to go."

Then the footsteps walk away and get quieter. Casey grabs the closest towel, wraps herself in it like a cocoon, and doesn't move.

 

 

After a while, she gets cold, so Casey gets up, opens the door, and quickly gets dressed in the unfamiliar clothes. The pants are too big, so she leaves them on the ground. Reaching up, Casey touches her now soaked cowboy hat, which she kept on during the shower. 

Cody finds them trying to button up their shirt buttons. "Casey, are you okay?"

"No. You're keeping me prisoner. I have my rights. You should go to jail for a million years."   
Cody sighs. "Have you ever wondered what I'm still doing down here?"

A flash of surprise crosses Casey's face. "Ummmm...you like it here? I dunno?"

Cody shakes their head slightly. "I do like living here, but...the truth is, everyone down here is trapped by a magical barrier. There is a way to get out...but it comes at a great cost. Listen, this is a lot to tell you at once, but I need you to understand that if you want to get out of here, you'll have to kill King Asgore."

"...You're lying."

"I wish I was. Human souls are a lot stronger than monster souls, so you might be able to do it...but you'd need to kill a lot to become strong enough to fight Asgore. Is that worth it?"

Casey scowls, tears pooling in the corners of her eyes. "Stop it! You're stupid! Leave me alone!" Then she bursts out crying, sobbing through great sobbing gasps. "I don't wanna kill anyone! But I wanna go home!"

Cody hugs her tightly, rocking Casey from side to side. Eventually, her tears subside into soft whimpers. 

"It's going to be okay. You're going to be okay."


	15. seven and a half years old

There's a skeleton sleeping on a chair at the living room table of the king and queen, arms pillowing his head. Casey almost thought he was a prop skeleton, like one of those Halloween decorations, but the fake ones never breathed. 

"Doctor!" Toriel calls, a soft smile spreading across her face. The skeleton jerks upright, mumbles something that sounds like, "💧︎♓︎⌧︎⧫︎⍓︎ ♐︎□︎◆︎❒︎✏︎ ⬥︎♋︎♓︎⧫︎📪︎ ⧫︎♒︎♓︎⬧︎ ♓︎⬧︎■︎🕯︎⧫︎ ❍︎♋︎⧫︎♒︎ ♍︎●︎♋︎⬧︎⬧︎📬︎," hands gesturing weakly as he speaks.

Casey stares, now even more confused. Toriel pats her on the arm. "I'm sorry to startle you, doctor, but I thought I'd wake you so you will not have a bad back in the morning. When have you eaten last?" 

"✋︎ ♒︎♋︎♎︎ ♋︎ ❍︎♓︎●︎🙵⬧︎♒︎♋︎🙵♏︎ ♋︎ ♍︎□︎◆︎◻︎●︎♏︎ ♒︎□︎◆︎❒︎⬧︎ ♋︎♑︎□︎📬︎ ❄︎♒︎♋︎⧫︎ ♍︎□︎◆︎■︎⧫︎⬧︎📪︎ ❒︎♓︎♑︎♒︎⧫︎✍︎."

Toriel sighs. "No, Doctor Gaster, a milkshake does not count as a meal."

"✋︎ ♋︎●︎⬧︎□︎ ♒︎♋︎♎︎ ⬧︎□︎❍︎♏︎ ♎︎❒︎⍓︎ ❒︎♋︎❍︎♏︎■︎ ■︎□︎□︎♎︎●︎♏︎⬧︎✏︎" The doctor crosses his arms across his chest, as though proving a point. Toriel sighs again, this one even deeper than the last. 

"Stay here, I'll make you both something nutritious. Oh, I almost forgot. Casey, this is Doctor Gaster, the Royal Scientist. Doctor, this is Casey. She's a recent visitor to the Underground."

Casey studies the skeleton carefully. He does look like a real scientist, she thinks, the kind you can tell is a scientist even if they don't tell you they are. He's wearing a lab coat over a black sweater, and to complete the nerd look, he's even wearing a pair of glasses. 

Sitting down on a chair opposite his, Casey holds out a hand for him to shake. "I'm Casey! But you can call me Chief if you wanna."

"✋︎ ♋︎●︎⬧︎□︎ ♒︎♋︎♎︎ ⬧︎□︎❍︎♏︎ ♎︎❒︎⍓︎ ❒︎♋︎❍︎♏︎■︎ ■︎□︎□︎♎︎●︎♏︎⬧︎✏︎"

The doctor shakes her hand, and she sees that in the center of each of his palms is a giant circular hole.

"Woah! I bet you could put giants cups in there. Have you ever tried?"

The doctor snickers, shaking his head. "👍︎♋︎■︎🕯︎⧫︎ ⬧︎♋︎⍓︎ ♓︎ ♒︎♋︎❖︎♏︎📬︎"

 "You should try it. That way you wouldn't have to carry them. Then again, you wouldn't be able to hold 'nything either."

"Casey?" Toriel calls from the kitchen. "Would you care for some snail pie?"

Casey shrugs. "Sure!" She turns to Gaster. "Do you like snail pie?"

Gaster nods. "💧︎■︎♋︎♓︎●︎ ◻︎♓︎♏︎ ♓︎⬧︎ ◻︎❒︎♏︎⧫︎⧫︎⍓︎ ♑︎□︎□︎♎︎📬︎"

The smell of pie wafts through the dining room, warm and comforting.


	16. eight years old

For six months, Casey lives with Cody in Snowdin.

It's nice living there, but Cody is still a stranger, and a grown up, too. It feels strange to call an adult Cody, but they haven't said a last name so Casey calls them Cody even though it's weird. Mom always said to not call grown ups by their first name. She'd be real mad if she found out, and Casey wouldn't mind a bit if it meant seeing her mom again. 

She misses her mom, her sister, and her house. She misses rollerblading and patrolling the neighborhood with Jamie, looking for crime to stop. 

She misses everything so much that it hurts her stomach like she got a real bad bellyache when she thinks about it too much. So she tries not to. But it's kind of like having a tooth fall out, leaving behind a gap. As long as your tongue doesn't touch the space, you don't remember it's gone. Once you're aware, however, you can't seem to stop prodding at it.

That's what it's like.

 

Doctor Gaster considers himself an intelligent being, and he can back up these claims as well. However, despite his achievements, he is all too aware of his own social shortcomings. Gaster is not a particularly warm individual, and he spends most of his time alone, working on multiple projects at once. 

Toriel worries after him, saying he doesn't eat enough, that he spends too much time in his lab. (She's the only one who can really draw him out nowadays, usually with promises of pie.)

Doctor Gaster is Royal Scientist, creator of the Core, and he is a very logical skeleton, and most things in life made complete sense.

Then a small child began following him around, and all known logic went out the window.

It didn't make any sense. Young Casey did not understand his language, and though he has a device that translates his signs into Common, he rarely uses it. Most monsters avoid conversing with a monster they cannot understand, and this means he rarely has to interact with others.

(This trick does not work on Toriel or Asgore, who understand his language completely. But he doesn't mind talking to either of them, so that is a moot point.)

Not in this case. The human seemed fascinated by everything he did, and would chatter away a mile a minute about various things, pausing to ask a question, and trying to interpret the one word responses he would give in reply. 

Then one day, she walked over to him with her face furrowed in concentration. Coincedently, it was also the day he had the cellular device with him, tucked into the pocket of his lab coat.

"💣︎⍓︎ ♍︎♋︎⬧︎♏︎⍓︎ ♓︎⬧︎ ■︎♋︎❍︎♏︎" 

_My Casey is name._

When he didn't reply, she looked worried. "I'm sorry! I didn't mean to be rude, I just wanted to try and see if I could talk your language and then we could-"

Gaster held up a hand, and Casey stopped. "☠︎□︎📪︎ ⍓︎□︎◆︎ ♑︎□︎⧫︎ ♓︎⧫︎ ♍︎□︎❒︎❒︎♏︎♍︎⧫︎📬︎"

**_NO, YOU GOT IT CORRECT._ **

 "Wait, huh? I could understand you! How?"

Gaster pulls out the device. Shaped like a cell phone, it's easy to carry with him without having to use his hands. 

"❄︎♒︎♓︎⬧︎ ♎︎♏︎❖︎♓︎♍︎♏︎ ⧫︎❒︎♋︎■︎⬧︎●︎♋︎⧫︎♏︎⬧︎ ⬥︎♓︎■︎♑︎♎︎♓︎■︎♑︎⬧︎ ♓︎■︎⧫︎□︎ ♍︎□︎❍︎❍︎□︎■︎📬︎ ✋︎ ◆︎⬧︎◆︎♋︎●︎●︎⍓︎ ♎︎□︎■︎🕯︎⧫︎ ♍︎♋︎❒︎❒︎⍓︎ ♓︎⧫︎ ⬥︎♓︎⧫︎♒︎ ❍︎♏︎📪︎ ⧫︎♒︎□︎◆︎♑︎♒︎📬︎"

**_THIS DEVICE TRANSLATES WINGDINGS INTO COMMON. I USUALLY DON'T CARRY IT WITH ME, THOUGH._ **

 Gaster had waited for Casey to ask him why he hasn't used this device to talk with her earlier, but was surprised when she instead asked, "Can you teach me more?"

For some reason, he had agreed.

 

"❄︎♒︎♏︎ ❒︎♏︎♋︎⬧︎□︎■︎ ⬥︎♒︎⍓︎ ⬥︎♓︎■︎♑︎♎︎♓︎■︎♑︎⬧︎ ♓︎⬧︎ ❍︎□︎❒︎♏︎ ♎︎♓︎♐︎♐︎♓︎♍︎◆︎●︎⧫︎ ♐︎□︎❒︎ ■︎□︎■︎📫︎⬧︎🙵♏︎●︎♏︎⧫︎□︎■︎⬧︎ ⧫︎□︎ ●︎♏︎♋︎❒︎■︎ ♓︎⬧︎ ♌︎♏︎♍︎♋︎◆︎⬧︎♏︎ □︎◆︎❒︎ ⬧︎◻︎♏︎♍︎♓︎♏︎⬧︎ ♍︎♋︎■︎ ♒︎♏︎♋︎❒︎ ♐︎□︎■︎⧫︎📪︎ ⬥︎♒︎♓︎♍︎♒︎ ♑︎♓︎❖︎♏︎⬧︎ ◆︎⬧︎ ♋︎■︎ ♋︎♎︎❖︎♋︎■︎⧫︎♋︎♑︎♏︎📬︎"

_THE REASON WHY WINGDINGS IS MORE DIFFICULT FOR NON-SKELETONS TO LEARN IS BECAUSE OUR SPECIES CAN HEAR FONT, WHICH GIVES US AN ADVANTAGE._

Gaster points to a chart on the wall he had drawn the night before, with every letter written out. Pointing to the chart, he explains, "☟︎□︎⬥︎♏︎❖︎♏︎❒︎📪︎ ⬧︎♓︎♑︎■︎♓︎■︎♑︎ ♓︎⬧︎ ♋︎●︎⬧︎□︎ ♋︎ ●︎♋︎❒︎♑︎♏︎ ◻︎♋︎❒︎⧫︎ □︎♐︎ ⧫︎♒︎♏︎ ●︎♋︎■︎♑︎◆︎♋︎♑︎♏︎ ♋︎⬧︎ ⬥︎♏︎●︎●︎📪︎ ⬥︎♒︎♓︎♍︎♒︎ ♓︎⬧︎ ♐︎♋︎♓︎❒︎ ♑︎❒︎□︎◆︎■︎♎︎ ♐︎□︎❒︎ ♋︎■︎⍓︎□︎■︎♏︎ ⬥︎♒︎□︎ ♒︎♋︎⬧︎ ♒︎♋︎■︎♎︎⬧︎📬︎"

_HOWEVER, SIGNING IS ALSO A LARGE PART OF THE LANGUAGE AS WELL, WHICH IS FAIR GROUND FOR ANYONE WHO HAS HANDS._

"Oh. I think I get it. So the language is both signing and talking?" Casey ponders, looking at Gaster for confirmation.

He shrugs. "💧︎□︎❒︎⧫︎ □︎♐︎📬︎ ⚐︎■︎♏︎ ♍︎♋︎■︎ ♌︎♏︎ ◆︎⬧︎♏︎♎︎ ⬥︎♓︎⧫︎♒︎□︎◆︎⧫︎ ⧫︎♒︎♏︎ □︎⧫︎♒︎♏︎❒︎📪︎ ♌︎◆︎⧫︎ ⧫︎♒︎♏︎⍓︎ ⬥︎□︎❒︎🙵 ♌︎♏︎⧫︎⧫︎♏︎❒︎ ♓︎♐︎ ◆︎⬧︎♏︎♎︎ ♓︎■︎ ⧫︎♋︎■︎♎︎♏︎❍︎📬︎ ❄︎♒︎♏︎❒︎♏︎🕯︎⬧︎ ●︎♏︎⬧︎⬧︎ ❒︎□︎□︎❍︎ ♐︎□︎❒︎ ❍︎♓︎⬧︎♍︎□︎❍︎❍︎◆︎■︎♓︎♍︎♋︎⧫︎♓︎□︎■︎📬︎"

_SORT OF. ONE CAN BE USED WITHOUT THE OTHER, BUT THEY WORK BETTER IF USED IN TANDEM. THERE'S LESS ROOM FOR MISCOMMUNICATION._

 

"✋︎ ♒︎♋︎❖︎♏︎ ⧫︎□︎ ♌︎♋︎⧫︎♒︎❒︎□︎□︎❍︎ ♑︎□︎" Casey carefully signs. 

Gaster shakes his head. "♍︎●︎□︎⬧︎♏︎📪︎ ♌︎◆︎⧫︎ ■︎□︎⧫︎ ❑︎◆︎♓︎⧫︎♏︎📬︎"

**_CLOSE, BUT NOT QUITE._ **

Casey tries again, even slower than last time. "✋︎ ♒︎♋︎❖︎♏︎ ⧫︎□︎ ♑︎□︎ ⧫︎□︎ ⧫︎♒︎♏︎ ♌︎♋︎⧫︎♒︎❒︎□︎□︎❍︎📬︎"

_I have to go to the bathroom._

Gaster nods eagerly. When Casey holds out her fist, he bumps it with his own, gently. 

"🏱︎♏︎❒︎♐︎♏︎♍︎⧫︎📬︎"

**_PERFECT._ **


	17. nine years old

"They're so  _tiny_ ," Casey marvels. "Were you this small when you were a baby, Doctor Gaster?" Pressing her face against one of the medium sized tubes, she stares intently at the small skeleton floating in the transparent liquid. 

Fiddling with the controls on the machine next to the two large tubes, Gaster shrugs with one shoulder.  **"PERHAPS. I DON'T REMEMBER BEING A BABY, THOUGH, AND I HAD NO SIBLINGS TO SPEAK OF, SO I HAVE NOTHING TO COMPARE THEM TO BESIDES EACH OTHER."**

"Huh." Stepping back, she considers the small skeletons. "Which one's older?"

**"THE ONE ON THE LEFT. THE SMALLER ONE."**

"When can they come out? Can I play with them? What are you gonna name them? Are they gonna talk like you?" 

As she talks, Casey bounces on her toes with excitement.

Gaster sighs fondly.  **"THEY NEED TO FINISH DEVELOPING FIRST, AND EVEN AFTER THEY EMERGE THEY WILL BE TOO YOUNG FOR YOU TO PLAY WITH. AS FOR THEIR NAMES, I WON'T BE ABLE TO FIGURE THEM OUT UNTIL THEY TALK- OR** **MAKE SOME KIND OF NOISE. THEN I'LL KNOW THEIR FONT. IT'S TRADITION TO NAME A SKELETON AFTER THEIR FONT."**

Casey considers this for a moment. "Do I have a font?"

**"EVERYONE DOES. YOUR FONT IS KNOWN AS 'COMMON,' OR 'CALIBRI,' WHICH IS USUAL AMONG NON-SKELETONS. "**

"Do you think they can hear us?"

**"IT'S POSSIBLE. HIGHLY UNLIKELY, THOUGH."**

 

"...and then there was a giant tornado, and the entire house was swept into the air! And then she woke up in a different land, and there was color!"

As Casey stands in front of the tanks, animatedly telling her versions of half-remembered tales, Gaster wonders what it would be like to have a daughter join his family.


	18. ten years old

"Casey. Ca-sey." She points to herself, then repeats it in Wingdings. "👍︎♋︎⬧︎♏︎⍓︎"

The three of them are sitting on a blanket- well, she and Papyrus are sitting, Sans is slumped on the ground, peering up at her with curious (but mostly sleepy) eyes. 

Papyrus gnaws thoughtfully on one of his bony knuckles. "...EY!" he finally babbles, browbones furrowing in concentration. She holds up his hand and gives him a high five. 

"Nice job!"

She points at Sans."💧︎♋︎■︎⬧︎," she says, before repeating it in Common. "Sans. That's you. And that's your brother over there. He's Papyrus. 🏱︎♋︎◻︎⍓︎❒︎◆︎⬧︎."

"...ap. pap."

"Awesome! Doc, I think he's trying to say Papyrus!"

 **"THEY SEEM TO BE PICKING UP THE LANGUAGE QUICKLY,"** Doctor Gaster says, coming in from the kitchen with a three bowls of soup.  **"IN THE MEANTIME, I MADE LUNCH."**

Using his blue magic, he carries Sans over to his high-chair, placing one of the bowls in front of the small skeleton. Papyrus, seeing his brother go away, let out a small "NYEH?", holding up his hands so that Casey can help him up too.

(Papyrus still has a little trouble when it comes to standing up by himself, but the Doc says that when he learns how to walk he'll no doubt be a terror.)

"Did you make anything for yourself?" Casey asks, knowing that answer before she even asks it. The Doc's great at taking care of other people, but he's keeps forgetting to take care of himself. 

**"NO NEED TO WORRY YOURSELF, CASEY. I'M AN ADULT, AND I CAN TAKE CARE OF MYSELF. BESIDES, I ALREADY HAD FOUR MILKSHAKES."**

Papyrus tugs on her hand, and she scoops him up, carrying him over to a similar high-chair and sitting him in it. "How come you didn't make me a milkshake?"

**"MILKSHAKES ARE NOT MEANT TO BE...WELL, IT'S NOT GOOD FOR CHILDREN TO ONLY DRINK MILKSHAKES. BUT IF YOU FINISH YOUR SOUP I'LL MAKE YOU ONE."**

Immediately, Casey grabs a spoon, and starts chowing down, ignoring her burning tongue and throat. The soup is delicious, but she barely tastes it. 

"Okay, done!" she gasps. 

Gaster looks amused.

Papyrus babbles something, then overturns the bowl on his head, giggling madly as the the lukewarm liquid drips down his face.  

 **"OF COURSE."** Gaster sighs.  **"I SHOULD HAVE REMEMBERED. I REALLY NEED TO STOP HIM FROM _WEARING_ HIS FOOD."**

Crouching down, he begins wiping Papyrus' face with a napkin. Meanwhile, Sans, taking advantage of the doctor's distraction, dumps his own bowl of soup right on top of Gaster's head.

**"...SANS. WHY. JUST WHY."**


	19. fourteen years old pt. one

"WHAT DO BAD GUYS LOOK LIKE, CHIEF?" Papyrus asks, and Casey thinks for a moment. 

"They can look like anybody, but a lot of them have mustaches. Hang on a sec." Using a thick black marker, she draws a wobbly mustache on Sans' face. 

"BROTHER!" Papyrus shouts. "DON'T LET THIS TURN YOU INTO A CRIMINAL!" He looks at Casey anxiously. "DO MUSTACHES REALLY TURN PEOPLE EVIL?"

Sans grins. "probably. i already feel like doing bad stuff. like...littering. and jaywalking. hey, chief, what's jaywalking?"

"It's when you cross a road not at a crosswalk. If the police catch you they'll make you pay them a lot of money, or you might go to jail."

"huh. i don't get it."

Right now the three of them are on a patrol around Waterfall. After several years of inactivity, Casey is now ready to start being a sheriff again, now that she has a lay of the land, a phrase she heard on TV once. Plus, she had partners in crime, now that Sans and Papyrus can do stuff. 

"Deputy," Casey says to Papyrus, "scan the area. If you see anyone committing crime...you know what to do." Papyrus salutes sharply. 

"Sir, yes, ma'am!"

"Great!"

With that, he takes off. "Don't fall in the river!", she calls at his retreating back. 

"OKAY!"

"so, are the police a surface thing?" Sans asks, grabbing her arm and clambering up to sit on her shoulders. 

"Oof. Sans, you can walk on your own."

She can hear the grin in his voice when her brother replies, "maybe. but there are a lot of things in life that i can do, that i choose not to."

She shakes her head. "Sans, I love you, but you can be a total brat sometimes."

"onwards!" Sans says, lightly kicking his heels against her shoulders.

"Not a horse," she grumbles, but starts walking anyway. "And yeah, police are a Surface thing. My sister was one."

"was?"

Sometimes Sans can be too perceptive for his own good.

"I dunno if she's still a police officer. I...don't want to talk about this anymore."

"ok. hey, did you hear about the spaghetti? turned out they were an im- _pasta._ "

"Almost got the timing down good. Need to have a bit longer pause, though."

"okay. so you're saying i should wait for... _seconds_."

"Yeah. Wait, was that another food pun?"

"yep."  


	20. fourteen years old pt. two

_Dear Jamie,_

_It's me again. Casey. I'm doing okay, but I miss you loads. How's everyone doing back at home?_

_Right now I'm outside while the apartment airs out from smoke fumes. The doc left something in the oven again for too long. Apparently the timer is broken._

_Papyrus has made a new friend named Undyne. Her mom's the captain of the Royal Guard, and she wants to be the next one after her mother retires._

_Asgore mentions how she comes to him for training sessions, and maybe I should ask him for lessons, too. That would be cool, cause I want to join the Royal Guard as well and help people. Papyrus also wants to join, too.  
_

_Sans is pretty lazy, but he likes science, just like Doctor Gaster does, the kind that makes my brain hurt looking at all the equations._

_The two of them are now my sheriffs, but no matter what you'll always be number two. Actually, maybe you've moved up to become number one. You've always been the smart one, and I bet you're going to go far._

_Cody visited a week ago, said they were getting funds to expand the library as well as fix the sign. Some monsters are happy about the sign being fixed, but others complain that it gives Snowdin character. I dunno either way, but I've always found the misspelling funny. I wonder if Cody will let me keep the sign if they do take it down._

_Anyway, I hope you are doing okay. I miss you loads, and I'm sorry I left you._

_Love,_

_Casey_

 

 

This isn't the first letter she's written. It's not even her second. She has a whole shoebox full of them, of letters she can't send.

This one won't join them.

She folds the paper carefully into a paper boat, making sure the edges are crisp. Then she sets it into the river, watches as it floats away. Soon enough, though, the paper becomes soggy, and the makeshift boat sinks beneath the water.


	21. twelve years old

"CASEY, CAN YOU TELL ME A STORY?" Papyrus begs, eyelights shining. Casey, curled up on the sofa, sighs.

Trying to ignore Papyrus is like searching for a needle in a haystack- not only pointless, but a total waste of time. So she pats the couch cushion next to her. "Fine. But only for a little bit. Where's Sans?"

Papyrus, scrambling onto the sofa, sighs dramatically. "HE'S READING HIS SCIENCE BOOK AND TELLING AWFUL PUNS."

"So you came and left Sans by his lonesome?" she teases, and Papyrus shakes his head vehemently.

"NO, DAD WAS THERE TOO."

"Alright, then. So what kind of story do you want?"

"CAN YOU TELL THE ONE WHEN YOU WERE A SHERIFF ON THE SURFACE?" Papyrus begs, and Casey grins.

"Sure, I suppose. See...back then, it was me and my deputy-"

"JAMIE!"

"Yeah, Jamie. He was my right hand man. Occasionally he played the role of a bad guy called the Bald Bandit, and I had to arrest him because he turned to the dark side. Sometimes good guys can become bad guys, and you gotta help them out become good again."

"WHAT ABOUT SINISTER SALLY?" Papyrus interrupts, and Casey shushes him.

"Who's telling the story, here? Anyway, I was just getting to her. Sinister Sally was the main bad guy, the worst of the bunch. We could never arrest her, no matter what she did. She was Jamie's sister, and she was really old to us at the time. I think maybe she was fifteen, though. Still old, but not, super duper old like we thought."

"IS DAD OLDER THAN THAT?"

"I think so. I bet he's way old. Like older than the dinosaurs, even. But Sally kept stealing Jamie's water pistols, and broke all his action figures by stepping on them. Looking back, it was probably by accident." 

"CASEY?"

"You know, if you keep interrupting, I'll shove you off the couch. Don't think I won't, dummy."

"CASEY? AM I DUMB?"

Putting her arm around his boney shoulders, she quietly asks, "Did someone say you weren't smart? Cause I was just messing with ya, I didn't mean to hurt your feelings."

"NO, AND I'M FINE...BUT SOMETIMES I THINK MAYBE I'M NOT GOOD ENOUGH. SANS IS GOOD AT SCIENCE, JUST LIKE DAD. WHAT IF DAD IS DISAPPOINTED THAT I'M NOT LIKE HIM OR SANS?"

"Paps, do you think I'm dumb?"

"NYEH?" Twisting, he looks up at her with a shocked expression. "WHY WOULD YOU THINK THAT? YOU'RE ONE OF THE SMARTEST PEOPLE I KNOW!"

Casey smiles back, booping him just above his nasal cavity. "Well, I'm not good at the stuff the doc is. But I don't hafta to be, you know that? I guess...what I mean is that there's no one way to be smart. Everyone's got their strengths and weaknesses and stuff. And the doc's real proud of you, too."

"CASEY?"

"Yeah?"

"WHY DO YOU CALL HIM DOC?"

"Well, you know he's not my dad. But I still love him loads. So I call him doc. I dunno if that makes sense or not."

Papyrus had never thought about Casey's parents that deeply before. "IS IT BECAUSE YOU ALREADY HAVE A DAD?"

"Yeah." She twiddles her thumbs together. "Anyway,  back to your earlier point- my mama told me once that if everyone was good at the same thing, then nothing would ever get done. I never really thought about it until now, but it kinda makes sense."

"SO YOU MEAN I'M NOT STUPID?" 

Casey grins. "Nah," she says, "but you'd still be great even if you were dumber than a sack of bricks."

"WOWIE! THANKS...UM, I GUESS?"

"You're welcome."


	22. orange soul (bravery) pt. one

_He wakes up with the taste of copper in his mouth. When he pulls himself into a sitting position, he is surrounded by cave walls. Above him, a tiny patch of sunlight._

_How did he get here?_

_Think. Go back to the very beginning._

_..._

_Louis hadn't wanted to go to summer camp. Especially not one that involves camping, or being outdoors, or anything to do with nature. But despite his protests, he found himself on a bus headed towards Camp Pinewood: Expose Your Child to the Natural World!_

_Hooray._

_"It'll do you good," his mother insists over dinner. "Broaden your horizons."_

_"I like my horizons narrow," Louis mutters, but his mom ignores him. Louis stabs a piece of lettuce with a fork, scowling. "You just want me to stop training," he accuses, expecting his mom to deny it. Instead, however, she agrees._

_"Yes."_

_That took the wind out of his sails. He had planned this whole argument, and now he didn't have anything left to use now that his mom basically told him the truth. If she had told him that she didn't want him to stop training, he would have done his best to distract her by calling her out on her lies, hoping that she would feel bad enough to let him stay home._

_"You want me to get worse," he complains. "I'm already way behind to begin with!"_

_"Louis. You trained so hard that you tore your right ligament, and then tried to ignore Doctor Stephan when he said you needed to rest. If anything, you train too much. Anyway, I already paid for the camp, and it's only three weeks. You'll be home in no time."_

_"Can I take my boxing gloves?"_

_"No."_

_"Please?"_

_"No."_

_"How about just one?"_

_"Fine."_

 

The camp is at the base of Mount Ebott, which means that Louis, who lives in another city, has to take a two hour long bus ride by himself. The bus driver scowls at him when he gets on. "You got a ticket?" she drawls, sucking in her cheeks like she had just tasted a sour lemon. Louis hands her the pass, and she inspects it with little care. "Uh-huh. You'se one of those camper kids. Bunch of them sitting in the back."

 One of the guys waves at him lazily.

There are five teenagers in total, each sitting in a scattered formation in the back few rows. Aside from the red haired guy, no one is paying him any attention. 

"Hey, you look a bit too little to be here. How old are you, twelve?" the guy asks with a sly grin.

Louis is used to these sort of comments, so he laughs it off. "Nah, I'm fourteen. But I _do_ have an excellent skin care routine."

He seems to pass some sort of test, because the guy grins and waves him over. "C'mon, lemme introduce you to these losers." 

He heads over and sits in the aisle across from the other teen. "I'm Bryan," he says, his smile genuine, as if he's greeting a friend instead of meeting a total stranger. 

"Louis."

Indicating to the sleeping guy slumped in the window seat next to Bryan, the guy stage whispers, "This is my cousin. He's always sleeping. People call him Dozer, even the teachers."

Bryan introduces him to several other people, who give uninterested but polite greetings before returning to whatever they were doing beforehand. 

"You heading to the camp as well?" Louis asks, adding a quick, "Have you been before?"

Bryan nods. "Yeah, I've been going since I was fourteen, so that's been three years, counting this one. I have a bunch of tips and tricks on surviving this place."

"Surviving?" Louis raises an eyebrow at Bryan's phrase. "Is it that bad?"

"Weeeellllll..." Bryan says, stretching out the word like a piece of taffy, "it's not the worst, but the last week everyone spends hiking up part of the mountain and spending two nights sleeping there. So that's pretty tough. Other than that, the rest of the time is just doing various activities."

"That does _not_ sound fun."

"Yeah, it can be pretty bad. How'd you get roped into this? Parents made you sign up? Cause you don't seem like the outdoorsy kind of guy, no offense."

"Nah, my mom said it would be good for me. Dunno if that's true or not, but she mainly wanted me to take a break from boxing."

"You box?" Bryan asks curiously, "like, boxing boxing?"

"Yeah. It's a pretty cool sport, but about a half a year ago I tore a ligament and the doctor told me to take it easy."

"Ouch." Bryan winces. "I once broke my arm after..." for a brief moment, he pauses, before continuing, "after I tripped over some bleachers." 

The conversation then turns to the worst injuries each of them ever had, debating which one was more painful, before it moves onto the craziest things people have survived from. 

The trip there doesn't take as long as he thought it would. 

As they get off the bus, Bryan gives him a high five. "Finally! I thought we would never make it!" Then, calling to the bus driver, "Hey, Ethel! Couldn't you drive any faster!"

"SHUTTUP YOU BUM!" the older woman bellows, but Bryan laughs. 

"I love you too, Ethel."

As everyone troops off the bus, Bryan laughs and says, "That's my grandma, Ethel. She's the best."

"She sure is...um...yeah."

...

_That's right...he was going to the camp...and then..._

_The first two weeks weren't that bad. Bryan introduced him to a bunch of other guys once they got there- a few girls, too, and most of them were pretty cool._

_But it didn't take too long to find the jerks of the bunch._

 

"Alright," a counselor says, snapping a piece of bubble gum as she talks. "Looks like the three of you are in bunk four. The rest of the guys are already there with your CIT- Counselor in Training."

When Louis, Bryan, and his cousin arrived at bunk four- a small run-down cabin with no electricity, there were two teens casually lazing around the bunks. One of them, a beefy guy who already was starting to grow some patchy stubble, looks up from his comic book and sniggers. "Welp. Didn't think they let  _babies_ come here." 

The other guy, a wiry guy with dark hair, snorts. "They let about anyone here."

For the first time, the cousin (Dozer?) speaks up. "Don't be a butt, Jake."

The dark hair guy raises both eyebrows. "What, you're saying you're against freedom of speech or something?"

_..._

_So_   _they weren't that nice. But..._

 _He hadn't know they were the type of people to toss someone in a bottomless pit and leave them there to die._  
 


	23. part two

Louis doesn't bother calling up for help. There's no point, and besides, it'll waste energy. Energy he'll need if he wants to find a way out. 

Maybe he can climb back up? 

No, the walls are too smooth, and too far apart for him to brace himself against. The twinge is his leg reminds him that he probably wouldn't make it that far, anyway. And Louis is many things, but he isn't stupid. While he is healed enough that walking is no issue, climbing is a whole 'nother story. His leg still aches from the mild climb up the mountain, and that was a gentle slope, not a straight up 90 degree incline. 

_Now what?_

He considers his options. 

1.) Stay and wait for help that might never come.

2.) Keep on moving and find another way out.

_Yeah, I'm not waiting here._

_Time to get going._

Louis picks up his worn boxing glove. Slips it on. Raises his other hand to touch his lucky bandana, a ritual he usually does before every fighting bout. 

Steels himself internally, before heading face first into the darkness, eyes wide open. 

(He'd be lying if he said he isn't afraid.)

 

Luckily (or unluckily), there isn't any way else to go but forward. No side passages, just a straight shot ahead. And the room isn't as dark as he first assumed- there's a small patch of grass illuminated by a ray of sunlight that must have come from through another hole in the cave ceiling that helps light up the place. 

Another way out, so close, yet so far away. 

_Probably too small of a gap, anyway._

_Might as well keep going._

So he does. 

"Howdy!"

It's...a talking flower.

 _Maybe I hit my head too hard?_  

"Howdy?" Louis replies, relaxing a little. After all, it's not like a flower will be able to hurt him.

 

Famous last words.

 

The Ruins are a nice place to go when you don't want to be bothered, and every once in a while, Evergreen likes to take long walks there. Sure, the place isn't completely isolated, but most of the monsters give her space to think and be alone. 

"Augh!"

**_THUD._ **

"Are you okay?" she calls out. 

Instead of the response she's expecting, she hears a young voice yell, "I'm lost, do you know a way out? I fell in through a hole, and I couldn't climb out. Then I got attacked by a killer weed and I almost died."

_Is this..._

"Are you a human?" she calls back, wringing her paws together.

From the other room, she hears a confused, "...yeah? What else would I be?"

As she heads through, she replies, "Because this is the Underground. Most people who live down here are monsters." 

 

He thinks she's joking, until he sees who enters the room. She-it-they(?) are almost a head and a half taller than him, and resemble a grey badger standing on their hind legs wearing a pair of grease stained overalls and a blue sweater. 

"Who are you?" he asks, trying to keep his voice steady.

_Never let your opponent know you're afraid of them._

"I'm Evergreen. Nice to meet you!" The badger, Evergreen, holds out a paw for him to shake. So Louis walks over, never taking his eyes off her face, and shakes the offered paw firmly. 

"I'm Louis. Aren't monsters supposed to be extinct? You know, like dodo birds, unicorns, and giraffes."

Evergreen shrugs. "Guess not. What did you learn in school, anyway?"

"Well, that humans killed off all the monsters years and years ago or something like that. Guess the public educational system failed me yet again."

This gets a snort of laughter as a response. 

"Well, it's good to know what's going on at the Surface. Last person up there was Casey, and that was several years ago. It's good to have an update, so to speak. Get some new perspective and all that."

"Wait," he interrupts, trying to get through the stream of words, "you mean there's another human down here?"

"Two, actually. Casey and Cody. Casey's probably a few years older than you. Wait, how old are you?"

"Fourteen."

Letting out a low whistle, Evergreen amends with, "Actually, Casey's fourteen too. Guess you have something in common. Sorry about the whole age issue, it's just-"

"I know, I know." 

Louis is small for his age, weighing one hundred pounds soaking wet, arms and legs like matchbox sticks. He was born too early, and almost died as a baby. Ever since then, he's always been prone to sickness. People look at him and see a little kid. For a long time, only his mom and his boxing coach took him seriously, so when...

"Still, I'm sorry. Are you...are you okay?"

Louis looks up, surprised. He must have lost focus for a second, because now Evergreen looks slightly worried.

"I'm fine," he lies. 

"If you say so." Evergreen says, voice doubtful.

"I do say so. Anyway, what is this place?" Louis gestures all around him. 

"It's the Underground."

"I know we're underground."

"No, I mean, that's what we calls this entire place- The Underground."

"Really? That's not very creative."

"Yeah, our king isn't...well, he's awful with coming up with creative names, to put it bluntly."

"Doesn't matter. How do I get out of here?"

There's a brief pause, in which Evergreen's expression looks slightly panicked, before it smoothes over once more. "Lemme introduce you to Cody. They'll be able to explain the whole thing better than I can."


	24. part three

Evergreen hands him a coat. "Here. You'll need this once we get outside."

Jacket still in hand, Louis raises both eyebrows in confusion. "What do you, mean, outside? I thought you said..."

"It's better if you see it. Here, help me open this door." 

Between the two of them, the large door opens easily. 

"Thanks," Evergreen pants, "it usually takes way longer, even with magic."

But Louis barely hears her, all his attention now focused on the scenery ahead. 

In front of him is what can only be described as a winter wonderland taken straight out of the pictures of a storybook. The ground is covered in crispy, powdery snow, and aside from a marked path, the rest is pure and untouched. Snowflakes drift lazily down from...

"Wait, hold on a moment, I thought we were underground?"

Evergreen shrugs. "We are. Don't ask me how it's snowing, because it probably has something to do with complicated magic."

"Magic." Louis says, voice deadpan. "Alright, fine, I believe you. It's the only way I can rationally explain to myself what's going on without thinking I've gone psycho bonkers."

"That's a good attitude!" Evergreen chirps. "Come on, I'll take you to Snowdin- that's the name of the town- and you can meet Cody!"

"Okay."

 

_The worst thing about camp is the toilet situation. Namely, the fact that the bathrooms are basically holes in the ground._

_"I miss toilet paper," Louis groans, coming out of one of the two small latrine sheds._

_"Same," Bryan says. "You know, you could always use some oak leaves. Just be sure not to grab poison ivy instead."_

_(The camp has this rule that if you need to go to the bathroom during the night, you need to take a buddy with you. Out of everyone in their cabin, Bryan is the easiest to wake up, so he's often chosen as a bathroom buddy, much to his annoyance.)_

_"I'm not doing that."_

_"Your loss, then."_

 

"Have you tried battling yet?" Evergreen asks, breaking the awkward silence. Louis nods, before nimbly jumping over a tree branch. "Yeah. Apparently I have an orange soul? What does that mean?"

Evergreen thinks to herself. "Let me think...um...I think it's BRAVERY. I'm pretty sure it's BRAVERY...um...this is a bit awkward, but can I CHECK you? We'd have to battle, but it wouldn't be the real deal."

Stopping, Louis shrugs. "I guess so."

**Evergreen**

**LV 1 HP 50/50**

**Inventor with a short attention span.**

"So, that's me! I can't believe it says I have a short attention span, though..."

**Louis**

**LV 1  HP 15/20**

**Is very confused right now.**

 

"So, why did you want to check me?" Louis asks, staring at the black and white world with an uneasy face. "Is it about my LV? That flower said it was love...then again, it did try to kill me."

"A flower tried to kill you? I've never heard of a flower monster! How did you escape?"

"I punched it right in the face."


	25. age fourteen

_Both Cody and Evergreen offered to let him stay in their homes. "No thanks," Louis told them, "I want to keep moving on. What's the next place after this?"_

_"The Waterfall. All you need to do is follow the river downstream, and you'll reach it. Do you want us to come with you?"_

_"Nah, I'll be alright. If I get lost, I'll just ask for directions." He'd grinned sheepishly. "Guess all the snow doesn't suit me. But I'll come back if you want me too."_

_"That'd be great! Hey, you might actually run into Casey and her brothers. If you do, tell her Cody says hi!"_

_"Will do. Thanks for letting me stay for the night."_

 

Hiking through the snowy woods alone, Louis now realizes how quiet it is. Aside from the sound of his boots crunching against the snow, everything is deathly silent. 

He starts humming a tune, but stops after a few minutes when his lips are too numb from cold. 

"I should have taken the extra scarf," he grumbles to himself. 

 

"WAKE UP! WAKE UP!" Papyrus shouts, flinging himself onto Casey's bed. Under the covers, his sister is a large lump. He pokes where her head probably is. "UNDYNE'S HERE! SHE WANTS TO SHOW US HER HOUSE! HER MOM'S THERE, TOO! AND A HUMAN!"

"Ugh..." Casey grumbles. "Mrph...what time it is...what time is it?" 

Bouncing on the bed, Papyrus admits, "I HAVE NO IDEA! THE BIG HAND IS ON THE SEVEN AND THE LITTLE HAND IS ON THE FIVE. IS THE LITTLE HAND THE HOUR OR IS IT THE BIG HAND?"

"Paps...it's five in the morning. Lemme sleep." Reaching out blindly, she throws her pillow in Papyrus' general direction.

"OOF! CASEY, THERE'S NO TIME FOR PILLOW FIGHTS! WE HAVE TO GET GOING!"

"Get dad to take you..."

"I TRIED, BUT HE KEEPS FALLING ASLEEP BEFORE I COULD ASK! SO I LEFT A STICKY NOTE ON HIS FOREHEAD SO HE'D KNOW WHERE WE ARE GOING! SANS IS ALREADY OUTSIDE!"

"Ugh...give me five minutes..."

Papyrus sighs. "OKAY..."

(Gaster will wake up an hour later at his desk, a blanket draped over his shoulders, and a note reading 'WENT TO SEE UNDYNE AND NEW HUMEN BE BAC SON' written on a blue sticky note.)

 

"The most important thing about battle is defense! But that doesn't mean you shouldn't go on the offense! Some training does involve actually depleting someone's HP, but only during supervised training. Got that?"

"Think so," Louis says, scribbling down notes on a piece of paper. "That's kind of like boxing. You don't want to kill, and there are a lot of rules too!"

"Like what, kid?"

"Well, you're not allowed to hit below the belt. In professional matches they can hit each other on the head, but my boxing teacher doesn't let us do that."

"You want to train with me, kid? My daughter said she'd be back with her friends, and Papyrus usually likes to join in with Undyne. Maybe you can show off your moves to them!"

"Really? Cool!"

 

Casey's barely taken two steps out the front door when a loud voice shouts, "RANDOM AMBUSH!", leaping onto her shoulders with a mighty roar. 

"Undyne..." she grumbles, "I told you to stop doing that."

The girl slides off her shoulders and grabs her hand, pulling Casey down so they're eye to eye. "Warriors always have to be prepared!" Letting Casey go, Undyne mimics the pose Papyrus and her came up with- one arm in the air, the other pointed at the ground- before turning to Papyrus. "The human's with mom. They know how to fight, too!" Undyne grins, barring her tiny, yet sharp, teeth. "I bet I could beat that human in a fight with both hands tied behind my back! I bet I could beat 'em up with no arms  _and_ a blindfold on!"

"WOWIE! DO YOU THINK YOU CAN TEACH ME HOW TO DO THAT?" Papyrus squeals, looking at Undyne with awe, eyelights sparkling. 

"Sure! Just gotta beat the human first."

"So, they're at your house, right? Why don't we head over there now? Sans...wake up." She leans down and pokes the sleeping skeleton with her finger on his forehead.

"too early," he grumbles. "piggyback ride."

"BROTHER! YOU NEED TO BE LESS LAZY! ALSO, IT'S MY TURN!"

Undyne grabs Papyrus by the shoulder. "Bet you can't beat me there!" With that she takes off, leaving poor Papyrus in the dust.

"CHEATER!" Papyrus yells, sprinting after Undyne, "YOU DIDN'T GIVE ME A FAIR WARNING!"

Without turning back, Undyne retorts, "That's using the battlefield for my advantage!"

Casey scoops Sans up. "I'll carry you part of the way. Then you gotta walk, got it?"

"...kay." Sans says, already half-asleep. Casey sighs. She knows she's going to end up carrying her little bro all the way to Undyne's house.

 

Louis hears them before he sees them. "Charge!" shouts a young voice, "get ready for attack!" Out of nowhere, he's tackled by a small body. "Got 'em!" they yell. 

Wheezing, Louis gets up, the girl still clinging to his chest. 

"You're my prisoner now," the girl informs him. "Unless you are willing to fight!"

"You're Undyne, aren't you?"

Undyne nods, letting go of Louis. "Yeah. You're the human, aren't you? You're the one who knows how to boxed."

"Boxing," Louis corrects. "And sure, I can teach you. Your mom said something about your friend Pap-"

"DYNAMIC ENTRY!" This time, another small child crashes into him, this time from the behind. "OMIGOSH, I'M SO, SO SORRY!"

Louis, now up close and personal with the ground, mumbles a feeble, "I'm okay."

 

"The first thing you gotta know when it comes to boxing is how to stand."

"BUT I ALREADY KNOW HOW TO STAND!" Papyrus questions, browbone furrowed. Louis taps his forehead. 

"You may know how to stand, but you have to stand correctly. Keep your legs shoulder width apart."

"Like this?" Undyne asks. Looking over, Louis sees that her stance is correct.

"Good job. Papyrus, try and copy that foot positioning." When Papyrus does so, Louis moves on to the next part. "Now, I want you guys to hold your right hand by your chin..."


	26. fourteen and a half years old

Louis has never considered himself a particularly brave person, and when they tell him that's what his bright orange soul signifies, he wonders if they've gotten mixed up. 

"I slept with a nightlight until I was thirteen," he confesses one afternoon while helping Undyne fold laundry. Neither of them enjoy this task, but both of them are grounded after an incident when a game of truth or dare (really just dare,) ended up giving Louis a bloody nose and almost half of their HP knocked off. 

"Yeah?" Undyne asks, patiently waiting for him to explain what he was leading up to.

So Louis continues. "And I cried a lot even when I just stubbed my toe."

Undyne shrugs, frustration on her face as the long sleeved shirt keeps unfolding every time she folds it. "Ugh! Stupid shirt. Why does anyone wear shirts, anyway? Why couldn't mom just make us do extra training, instead of this?"

Putting a pair of pants in the dresser drawer, Louis explains, "Mom knows you like training. It wouldn't be a punishment."

"She just wants us to waste time," Undyne grumbles. "Why does anyone need to keep their clothes like this when they're just going to be wrinkled the next time one of us wears it?"

"I guess it's just the principle," Louis says and Undyne nods.

"That kind of makes sense...sort of, anyway."

 

Louis has never considered himself a particularly brave person.

"Didn't you say you punch Flowey in the face?" Casey asks, folding another paper boat and placing it in the river. Louis, feet dangling in the cool water, sighs.

"Yeah, but I wasn't even thinking at the time. I was just scared. Plus, I ran away afterwards."

Casey scoffs. "That's not cowardice, that's being smart. Good survival skills and whatnot. Besides, Papyrus would disagree with you on that front."

"Yeah, but...he thinks I'm some sort of hero already."

"Papyrus has good taste," Casey says impulsively, her face quickly turning pink with embarrassment at her sudden claim. "Don't let it get to your head," she quickly adds, watching as her paper boat sinks below the water. "You finished your boat, yet? We can race 'em."

"I think so," Louis says, "but it looks kind of like a cross between a paper boat and a paper airplane. It might not actually float."

Casey stares at the sorry excuse for a paper boat. "Nah, it's fine," she lies.

Louis grins, fake-punching her on the shoulder. "I doubt that!"

"Well, what do you want me to say? That it stinks? C'mon, hurry up, let's race 'em already!"

Both of them carefully place their paper boats in the water. 

As they watch with baited breath, Casey's boat collides with Louis' and her boat sinks a few seconds before his does.

"Ha!" Louis grins, dancing his 'victory dance,' which is basically him flailing all limbs in every direction.

"That wasn't even a proper boat! Rematch!"


	27. fifteen years old pt. one

Louis bounces from house to house during the first year of his stay in the Underground. At first, Cody and Evergreen's mom worried over him. "Are you sure you're okay with this constant movement? I'm sure any family would gladly take you in."

But Louis shrugged. "It's actually kinda nice. I used to go between my mom and my dad's places every other week, so it's nice to go back to that routine."

Turns out that monsters don't really have a concept of divorce in the same way humans do. 

"Monster couples do occasionally break up, but this usually takes place during the early stages of a relationship, before any serious bonds are formed," Pip explains over a cup of tea. Cody, sitting next to him, takes a sip of tea, makes a face, then places the cup back down hurriedly. 

"You know, you don't have to drink it if you don't like it," Pip assures, but Cody shakes their head. 

"One day I'm going to wake up and like tea. I just have to keep drinking it." 

"I don't think that's how it works," Louis interjects slyly. As soon as he says this, Cody picks up the mug, turns to face him, and without breaking eye contact, downs the entire drink in one gulp. Almost immediately, they begin gagging. 

Coughing, they spit out, "See...it works...fine..."

"If you say so..." Louis responds, getting up and out of the way just in case Casey ends up barfing up the tea. 

Meanwhile, Pip is shaking with silent laughter. 

 

(Louis stays over at Gaster's house for two nights once. Though he gets along with all of them just fine, the apartment is small enough already even without him in it. Even though he knows they're trying to make him feel welcome, Louis still felt like an intruder.)

 

Then Undyne invites him over for dinner. It ends up being the coolest meal Louis has ever seen prepared- Undyne's mom, Zenobia, can actually slice onions in midair with a single chop. Then, after dinner, she teaches them several fighting techniques she used during the war.

"Don't try this until I say you're ready," she warns, before punching a boulder with one fist. The boulder shatters into a million pieces with a loud  _BOOM!_

Undyne, of course, wants to learn that trick immediately. As for Louis, his mind is completely blown, because the idea that magic can be combined with boxing is the best thing ever.  

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Zenobia (c.240- 270), dubbed the "Warrior Queen," conquered Egypt from the Romans only two years into her reign.   
> Well educated and multilingual, Zenobia was known for 'acting like a man,' as she would ride, drink, and hunt with her officers.


	28. fifteen years old pt. two

Louis first hears about the human from Miss Toriel, when she comes over to talk to Zenobia one afternoon. She arrives just as Louis is pummeling a punching bag, with Undyne both cheering him on as well as shouting, "Is that the best you can do?! You hit like a baby!" in her best trainer voice. 

Neither of them spot Toriel until she greets them. "Good afternoon, Louis and Undyne. Is your mother around?"

Undyne nods. "She'll be back so, she's getting some small boulders for Louis and me to practice breaking with our fists! Wanna watch?"

Queen Toriel smiles. "That would be quite interesting to watch, but I do need to speak with your mother first."

"Need to speak who about what?" Zenobia calls, walking around the back of the house carrying two giant rocks. Both look pretty heavy.

"Zenobia!" Toriel smiles. Zenobia grins, drops the boulders on the ground (they land with a loud  _THUD_ ), and shoots her the double finger guns. (Zenobia is very proud of the fact that she is, indeed,  _hip with the kids._

"I'm afraid this matter is one needed by the Royal Guard."

"What do you need me for?" Zenobia asks, face turning a bit more serious. 

Toriel smiles sheepishly. "Perhaps I made this sound a bit more dire than it actually is. You see, all we have are rumors alone, but a few monsters have spoken about seeing an unknown human in Snowdin. The reason why I have come to you is to ask you to keep a close eye out for the human. Do you think you and your guards can handle this?"

Zenobia scoffs. "Please, of course we can. Do you want me or the guards to walk up to them with or without an Encounter?"

"Perhaps without would be the best choice for now."

 

(Despite the entire Royal Guard on alert, no one seems to catch any glimpse of the mysterious human child. Louis wonders if maybe they're not even real at all.)

 

Six months later, and Zenobia is showing them how she uses her boulder punching skills. "What you got to do," she says, "is focus in on your soul. That's your CORE, where all your magical energy comes from. Imagine making a connection between your soul and your fist, imagine channeling the magic through your arm. Let it build up, then-RELEASE!"

With that, Zenovia punches the ground, creating small craters in the ground. Both Undyne and Louis cheer. Zenobia grins, bowing theatrically. "Looks badass, doesn't it? But you'll need more than just brute strength. You need  _control_."

By 'control,' Zenobia meant channeling magic into one hand and then trying to fold a paper crane.

(Needless to say, a lot of paper would soon be wasted.) 

 

"Arghhh!" Undyne groans, as yet another piece shreds in half. "This is impossible!" Louis flops over onto the carpet, tiny pieces of paper scattered around him like pieces of confetti. 

"It's possible, alright," Zenobia says, carrying a box full of paper. "Although, it is a bit tricky since the paper is a bit brittle after getting wet and then being dried. But I can show you." 

Putting down the box, Zenobia grabs a piece of paper, and in less than a second, folds the piece of paper into a perfect swan. And all the while, her fist is glowing faintly with green magic. 

"Cool," Louis breathes. "Wait, where's all this paper coming from, anyway?"

Zenobia shrugs. "I found some old computer manuals. _No_ _one_ reads computer manuals, and besides, all the words are blurred together so badly that even if you wanted to read it, you couldn't. Anyway, it's time for my shift. Try not to maim each other while I'm gone." 

With that, she heads out the door, closing it carefully behind her.

"Alphys probably would like to read computer manuals," Undyne blurts out, before snapping her mouth shut. Louis perks up, sitting and facing his adoptive sister. 

"Who's Alphys?"

Undyne flushes. "Nobody! I mean, she's...well...um..."

Louis waits, startled at Undyne's behavior. Then he grins. "You like her! Where's she from, anyway?"

Undyne scowls, her cheeks flushing a dark blue color. "I like a lot of people! Anyway, she lives in Hotland. I saw her talking to the Professor earlier today."

"So, what's she like?"

"She...she's...I mean, I didn't talk to her or anything like that."

"So you stalked her then."

"Only a little bit!"

"I think I get it now. You  _like-like-like her_."

"What's with the extra like?" Undyne asks, attention briefly diverted. Louis' grin turns devious.

"Cause you  _loooooooooooooooooooovvvvvvveeeeeeee_ herARGGGH!"

Undyne punches him in the arm, forgetting she still had the extra magic in her hand.

"...my bad. But now you know not to mess with me."

"Duly noted."

From Louis' grin, however, she knows he isn't planning on listening to her at all.


	29. fifteen years old pt.three

Louis' knuckles are bleeding, and are starting to become numb from cold. In front of him in a pine tree. Some of the bark is splintered, and there are even a few droplets of blood, although those are almost impossible to see. You wouldn't notice unless you stared at the tree very closely. 

The forest outside Snowdin is peaceful to most people, but to Louis it's always been a bit too quiet. The silence only makes him feel uneasy, bringing up thoughts he'd rather ignore.  

It's a wonder he hasn't broken anything- he's been punching with his thumb inside his fist, a mistake that only newbies make. It was one of the first lessons his mom had drilled into him, over and over again. It had been one of the first lessons his boxing coach had taught the class. 

_"Punch with your thumb outside your fist, unless you want to break your fingers."_

"Louis?" 

He doesn't turn around. 

Louis didn't hate silence before he fell. 

"Louis!" 

He turns to face Undyne. "Finally!" she huffs, although the expression on her face is more worried than exasperated. "I've been calling your name for  _ages_." She pauses, clearing waiting for him to throw back a lighthearted quip about her being too impatient, but Louis stays quiet. 

"Louis? Lu-lu?" Undyne says, using his much hated nickname. He scowls slightly.

"Don't call me that."

The crunching of snow against winter boots are no surprise. "What do you want, Undyne?"

There's a note of hesitance in her voice when Undyne asks, "Are you okay?"

"Yes. No. Maybe. I dunno."

She's standing next to him, leaving some space like she's worried he might bolt if she gets too close. "Do you...do you want to talk about it?"

"...you wouldn't understand. Leave me alone.'

Undyne furiously shakes her head. "No way! Me and mom are really worried about you."

"...she's not my  _mom._ "

"She's still worried about you, idiot. Who cares if she's your mom or not? Besides, it's not like-" Undyne claps a hand over her mouth quickly but the damage is done.

"Because it's not likely I'm going to see my mom again?" 

Louis is surprised at the steadiness of his voice, how calm he sounds, because inside his mind he's a boiling inferno, a tornado of rage. 

"I didn't mean it like that," Undyne finally says, voice subdued. "I'm sorry. I..guess I never really stopped to think that you're going through the same stuff I did."

Louis swirls to face her, fists already up, feet sliding into the familiar stance. "That's a lie! You don't know what it's like!" 

"What, you calling me a liar?" Undyne shouts, bristling at the insult. "You're not the only one who's lost someone! At least your mom is alive! I never even knew my dad! But I do know that...that...I want to be there for you! So stop being an idiot and actually talk to someone for once!"

 Both stare each other down, gazes intense. It's Undyne who looks away first, rubbing the back of her neck nervously. "Mom always says that if you keep everything inside, it'll only end up poisoning your mind and body. And I know she's not your mom, and she isn't trying to replace yours. But she cares about you. I do too. You should know this by now."

"...I'm hungry. Let's go to Grillby's."

"Okay."

As the two of them set out back to Snowdin, Undyne's mittened hand finds its way into his, squeezing it gently.

_"Don't worry about it. I'm fine. I have to be."_


	30. sixteen years old

Even though Undyne's about six years younger than him (give or take), she's already a foot and a half taller than him. "That's not  _that_ impressive," Undyne laughs, and she's right, but he still takes a swing at her anyway. But it's true. Louis has always been small for his age, and even though he's in his late teens ("Basically an adult!"), he doesn't look it. 

Barely pushing 5'2 feet, weighing about 120 pounds soaking wet, Louis looks more like a twelve year old who hasn't hit puberty yet, and he hates it.

(As a side note, apparently monsters have their own version of puberty, but Louis is _way_ too uncomfortable to even think about asking.) 

Undyne teases him about his height, but she does it in the same manner she teases him about anything else, so she's surprised when he actually punches her hard enough to knock off a point of her HP. 

In that moment, Louis looks like he wants to bolt, but at the same time, he also looks like he wants to fight. So Undyne pushes a bit further, cheerfully teasing Louis that he'll probably be wearing stripes for the rest of his life. 

"Well, at least I'm not a coward!"

"Am not a coward!"

"You keep going around talking about Alphys when you're too afraid to even be  _near_ her!"

"I'm not afraid! I just want to wait for a better time to talk, that's all. She's always busy helping out the doc with science and nerd stuff, I don't want to distract her and cause, like, a giant explosion or something."

This time, it's Louis who grins wickedly. "Or maybe it's cause you're in  _loooooooove_. You wanna kiss her and stuff!"

"Ewwww, no!" Undyne says, her cheeks flushing a dark green hue that stands out as a sharp contrast against her blue scales. 

(When it comes to her own feelings, Undyne is a terrible liar.)

 

Louis was born feet first, kicking and screaming, almost a month and a half too early, with his twin sister, Mia, clutching onto his arm with such a tight grip that the doctors had to carefully pry them apart. 

They spent almost a month together in the ICU. At first, they were placed in separate cribs, but both of them screamed and wailed and didn't stop until they were placed next to one another. Despite the fact that she was supposed to remain in bed, their mother fought tooth and nail to see them every single day, and if she had it her way, would have never left the ICU.

Weeks passed, and the doctors grew more hopeful that the two would leave happy and healthy in no time. 

Turns out, they were half right. 

 

"When I was little," Louis says as he and Undyne are pulling up carrots from their garden, "my mom sometimes would dress me in girl's clothes. There are pictures of me in dresses and hair bows from when I was a baby to about three years old. Sometimes I wonder if she thought I was going to be a girl, but I never really got around to asking."

"Dresses are weird," Undyne says, still grumpy about the time when they ran out of clean clothes and the only outfits available were dresses. "You can't do cartwheels in them without showing your underpants."

"Yeah, but I don't want to do cartwheels. Besides, I bet you could use them as a parachute if you fell out of a plane."

"Like that's ever going to happen," she scoffs. 

"You don't know that," Louis laughs. "Zenobia always says you have to be prepared for anything and everything."

 

Louis remembers being very little when he asked his mom if he could have a brother or sister. To his disappointment, she shut him down flat. 

"Never going to happen," and that was the last thing she ever said about it.


	31. sixteen years old pt. two

Undyne has taken to patrolling around Waterfall as practice for becoming a Royal Guard, and her idea inspired Louis and Papyrus to do so as well. Mostly their patrols end up being very long walks with little action, so usually they end up patrolling together to make it less boring. 

Today, though, Papyrus is sick, so it's just him and Undyne. 

"Hey, Undyne?" Louis asks, "Would you rather have feet for hands or hands for feet?" 

Without turning to look back at him, Undyne answers, "Dunno. Why?"

"I dunno. Just something to talk about."

Walking behind Undyne, Louis is focusing on kicking small stones out of the way, and so when Undyne stops, he bumps into her with a small  _oof!_

"Hey, what's the hold up?" Louis asks, peering around Undyne.

 

There's a strange mud monster by the river's edge. "Hey!" Undyne calls, voice worried, "Don't drink the water!" 

The monster startles, and when they jerk up, both Undyne and Louis see that what at first appeared to be a mud monster is really, in fact, a human covered in thick layers of mud.

"Hey!" Undyne shouts, and the human bolts. "Wait-wait!" she calls, giving chase, Louis at her heels. The kid, because they are a kid, zigs and zags, and Undyne shouts again, "We aren't here to hurt you!" but the kid keeps running. 

Louis gasps and pants behind Undyne, not having enough breath to shout anything at all. 

The human reaches the bridge, and instead of crossing it, jumps right off, quickly disappearing from view. "Wait!" Undyne shouts, far too late. 

Louis, suddenly getting a burst of adrenaline, rushes and peers over the bridge. "Do you...do you think they're okay?"

Undyne peers over the edge as well. "Maybe we should jump after them...but then we might not be able to climb back up."

"Or survive."

"That too." 

"I've got it!" Undyne says, beaming. "One of us will stay here, and the other will report to mom- I mean, Head of the Royal Guard. She'll know what to do, and she'll be impressed by our teamwork skills and quick thinking under pressure, and maybe forget that we failed to catch a human."

"Catch?" Louis asks, brows raised. "I thought the Royal Guard didn't do that sort of thing to Fallen Humans."

Undyne sighs. "You  _know_ what I mean, jerk!"

"You going to arrest me? Throw me in human jail?"

"I will, if you don't shut up! Anyway, we have to stay focused. I'll stay here, you report to Zenobia. Got it?"

"Got it. But shouldn't I be the leader since I'm older?"

"I claimed it first. I told you to say nothing if you wanted me to be in charge, and you said nothing. Fair and square."

"Undyne, I was asleep when you asked me that. You can't say that counts. But fine, I'll go get Zenobia. But only because I want to, not because you're ordering me to."

 


	32. purple soul (perseverance)

_"Darwin? Where are you?" Wallace calls, worry and fear lacing his voice. The seventeen year old sticks to the forest path, flashlight moving erratically in every direction, hoping the light will shine on his errant brother. Wallace checks his watch. Almost midnight. "Darwin, please, it's getting late. You'll catch a cold."_

_He almost misses spotting Darwin, hidden in some tall grass, but Wallace has always been observant, well used to his brother's hiding habits. "Darwin! You really shouldn't be out this late!"_

_Predictably, his brother shrieks, jumps up, and runs deeper into the woods. "I'm not leaving without you!" Wallace shouts, following at a more sedate pace. He doesn't know the woods as well as Darwin does, but he is more prepared for the elements- Darwin, clad in only pajamas and bare feet, will not likely make it that far. Hopefully, Wallace will catch up to his brother before he injures himself._

 

"In the wild, one method animals use to survive is by blending into their environment through camouflage. There four different types of camouflage," Darwin explains to his class. "There's concealing camouflage, disruptive coloration, disguise, and mimicry."

Most of the class looks bored and uninterested, but Darwin does his best to ignore them. He points to his poster board, where he glued pictures of the examples he had just listed. "Concealing camouflage is when an animal blends in by being the same color as their environment. Disruptive coloration is when the animal uses spots, stripes, or other patterns to make it hard for other animals to see the outlines of their bodies. Then there's disguise, which is a lot like concealing camouflage, except the animal blends in with their surroundings by having a certain look or texture that helps them blend in with their environment. Finally, there's mimicry, where the animal impersonates characteristics of a species that animals know to avoid."

In the back of the classroom, his friend Martin gives him a lazy thumbs up.

 

_Wallace knows he's not being exactly subtle, crashing through the woods in steel-toed boots, so it's obvious Darwin can hear him. "Darwin!" he calls, "If you come back, I promise nothing bad will happen. You won't get in trouble, honest."_

_Darwin, of course, does not respond, but Wallace can hear his footsteps on the crackling autumn leaves, his pace slower than before, probably in an attempt to stay quiet. "Darwin...this isn't a game," he says, trying not to let the irritation show in his voice, but failing miserably. "I'm tired, you're tired, why don't you stop goofing around and act your age for once?"_

_He can't hear Darwin's footsteps anymore._

_"Darwin?"_

 

School is alright, most of the time. Home is alright, most of the time. But when it's not, however, he puts his camouflaging skills into good use. 

The rules for school are a bit more straightforward than the rules for home. Don't be too over eager in class, don't remind the teacher that they've forgotten to assign homework- he's learned this lesson by watching the least popular kid in his class, Richard Watterson, who not only reminds the teacher that they've forgotten to assign homework, but also reminds the teacher that they've forgotten to get the homework back from the class. 

Richard is shaped like a fire hydrant, with a head covered in red curls that are an excellent target for spitballs from somewhat popular kids trying to look cool in front of the more popular kids. 

 

The rules of home, however...well, they're less consistent, which means it's much more important to be observant of the world around him there than anywhere else. 

Things at home have always been tense, but things have gotten worse since their dad lost his job and Mendel dropped out of college after having a nervous breakdown, and they haven't heard from him since after he left to "find himself," or something like that. Now that Mendel is gone, Wallace and their dad fight a lot more now, and both of them try and get Darwin to choose a side whenever he's around when an argument starts. 

Or sometimes it'll be just him and dad or him and Wallace when one of them will start bad mouthing the other, and claiming to have to do homework or having to go to the bathroom only works sometimes.

The bathroom is a safe space to hide in. Safer than his room, even, cause his room's door doesn't close all the way and doesn't have a lock. 

 

_"Fine!" he shouts, "Be that way! I did you a favor, you know, and you can't even be a little bit grateful, can you? Well, I'm leaving."_

  

He's in the kitchen making a snack when the yelling begins from the living room. When the voices come closer, he hides inside one of the lower cupboards. 

Both Wallace and their dad are angrier than he's ever heard them, ever. 

"You thought you could get away with this, huh? You made us think he abandoned us!" Wallace sounds...off, his words slurring as he talks. "But no, you told him...you told him..."

"I did you a favor!" Dad yells back. "Both of you! He wasn't going to come back no matter what I said!"

 

_His brother's crashing footsteps grow quieter and quieter. Darwin clambers down the tree he'd been hiding in. He's pretty sure Wallace will call the police once he gets back. Not for Darwin, of course. He hadn't realized it until now, but now Wallace has an alibi._

_His brother has always been an excellent liar, even without any sort of proof to back him up. Darwin, on the other hand, crumbles under any sort of pressure, and Wallace knows this._

_So he has to keep going._


	33. eleven years old pt. one

Darwin never thought that he would ever be scared of a  _flower_ , of all things. But this isn't just a flower, it's a flower _monster_ , snarling down at him in the dark void that apparently is an "encounter" or something like that, but he isn't sure if he can trust anything the flower said because those white things were certainly not "friendliness pellets" or whatever the flower called it- Darwin doesn't care what they're called because he's too busy trying not to die. 

A ring of these white pellets slowly encircle him, and Darwin manages to jump out of in just in time with only a single HP (health point?) lost. 

"You idiot!" Flowey cackles. "Just give up now, you know you don't even have a  _chance_ of beating me."

Dodging another round of magical bullets, Darwin is too busy gasping and wheezing to actually reply. His mind is whirling a thousand miles a minute, trying to think of a way of escaping, because there's no way he'll be able to defeat Flowey, not when he hasn't even managed to get a single hit in. 

Flower snarls as Darwin manages to duck and roll underneath a striking vine, avoiding the hit. "Just  _die_ already!"

The attacks are coming faster now, giving him barely any time to dodge out of the way.

"Augh!" A pellet goes straight through his arm- phases through actually- but the point of impact is burning with a sharp, stabbing pain.

**DARWIN  
LV 1     HP 7/25**

There's no time to attack, no time to even stop and take a breath, and from the black spots on the edge of his vision, he knows that at the rate this battle is going, Darwin's chances of surviving are getting lower and lower. 

Another vine grazes the edge of his face, a hit that would have hit him directly if he hadn't ducked in time. Even with the dodge, the attack takes down a chunk of HP, and even though the flower never said what would happen if the thing reaches zero, Darwin isn't an idiot.

**DARWIN**

**LV1     HP 5/25**  

More attacks begin actually hitting him, and Darwin collapses on the ground. In the corner of his eye, he sees his HP flashing.

       **DARWIN**

**LV1     HP 1/25**

"Told you so!" Flowey beams, voice sharp and mocking. "You just had to drag it out, didn't ya? Well, funtime is over.

**I T 'S  T I M E  T O  D I E**

The white bullets encircle him, faster and faster and Darwin closes his eyes-

_I don't want to die. I don't want to die. I don't want to die. I don't want to die. I don't want to die. I don't want to die. I don't want to die. I don't want to die. I don't want to die. I don't want to die. I don't want to die. I don't want to die. I don't want to die. I don't want to die. I don't want to die. I don't want to die. I don't want to die. I don't want to die. I don't want to die. I don't want to die. I don't want to die. I don't want to die. I don't want to die. I don't want to die. I don't want to die. I don't want to die. I don't want to die. I don't want to die. I don't want to die. I don't want to die. I don't want to die. I don't want to die. I don't want to die. I don't want to die. I don't want to die. I don't want to die. I don't want to die. I don't want to die. I don't want to die. I don't want to die. I don't want to die. I don't want to die. I don't want to die. I don't want to die. I don't want to die. I don't want to die. I don't want to die. I don't want to die. I don't want to die. I don't want to die. I don't want to die. I don't want to die. I don't want to die. I don't want to die. I don't want to die. I don't want to die. I don't want to die. I don't want to die. I don't want to die. I don't want to die. I don't want to die. I don't want to die. I don't want to die. I don't want to die. I don't want to die. I don't want to die. I don't want to die. I don't want to die. I don't want to die. I don't want to die. I don't want to die. I don't want to die. I don't want to die. I don't want to die. I don't want to die. I don't want to die. I don't want to die. I don't want to die. I don't want to die. I don't want to die. I don't want to die. I don't want to die. I don't want to die. I don't want to die. I don't want to die. I don't want to die. I don't want to die. I don't want to die. I don't want to die. I don't want to die._

The bullets make contact- and everything shatters. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And then he's standing, fists at the ready, and no longer are they standing in the dark void, they're right back where the encounter first began, and his voice is steady when he tells Flowey, "I'm not going to die here."

Flowey gapes at him, no longer looming over him, and while he's distracted, Darwin  _bolts_ out faster than he's ever run in his entire life, even faster than when Wallace was chasing him thirty minutes ago. 

Once he leaves the area, Darwin collapses on the ground, barely awake, gasping and panting for air, but still alive.

 


	34. eleven years old pt. two

After Darwin manages to catch his breath, he begins writing quickly in his notebook. 

**_Monsters:_ **

**_Dangerous, avoid at all cost to prevent further encounters. Flower monster lacked soul, is this the norm?_ **

**_Different types of monsters?_ **

 

Despite his best efforts, he ends up in another encounter, this time with a frog monster, who's far less intimidating, in fact, actually quite adorable. Now that his life's not in any peril, he can take the time to examine the options.

***Attack    *Talk    *Item     *Mercy**

  
The frog blinks up at him. It doesn't look that dangerous...and Darwin doesn't really want to attack it (he? her? them?)

***Talk**

More options pop up. 

***Science Joke         *Ask about monster biology     *Compliment**

"You look...nice today?" Darwin attempts. The frog...no, the froggit, just blinks. Lets out a small croak. 

Did it...did it work?

Nope.

The froggit attacks. Luckily, these attacks are much slower and easier to dodge.

***Science Joke**

"Why can't you trust atoms?" Darwin asks. "Because they make up everything!" When he finishes the joke, he gives the froggit the double finger gun. "Eyyyyyyyyyy....." 

When the froggit attacks again, it's even easier to dodge out of the way in time.

 

Darwin's hand hovers over the  ***Ask about monster biology** but decides not to bother.

When he goes back to the "main menu", so to speak, the  ***Mercy** button has changed colors. He presses it, and everything returns to normal. Darwin breathes a sigh of relief.

The froggit blinks placidly at him, before hopping away.

Grabbing his notebook, Darwin crosses out two lines of text.

**~~_Different types of monsters?_ ~~ **

**_There are at least two species of monsters._ **

**~~_Flower monster lacked soul, is this the norm?_ ~~ **

**_One monster lacked a soul (flower monster), while the other had a soul._ **

**_Appearance of soul: White, upside-down, heart_ **

**Tapping the eraser end of his pencil against his mouth, Darwin scribbles down a few more notes.**

**_What is an encounter?_ **

**_What is the purpose of said encounter?_ **

**_Why is my soul purple?_ **

**_Are most encounters made up of taking turns?_ **

**_Is there a way to avoid an encounter all together? Perhaps there is a certain area of space around a monster that if crossed, starts an encounter._ **

**_  
_ _What does LV stand for? Level? Love? Leave? Lemon? Is it an acronym of some sort?_**

**_Life or Very end?_ **

**_Lasagna is Very good?_ **

**_Since "friendliness pellets" were a lie, it probably isn't love, unless Flowey was only lying about one thing._ **

**_HP probably stands for Health Points, and for now, I'll assume LV stands for Level. (Level of what, I don't know.)_ **

**_Getting hit by an attack- decrease in HP. What would happen when HP reaches 0? Can it reach zero, considering earlier where I was hit but my HP stayed at one._ **

**_How did my HP go up?_ **

 

One thing for certain, and that is he'll be avoiding the fight option, considering he has no idea how powerful monsters are. And even though it would be interesting to study, it's probably best if he avoids any further encounters. 

Darwin closes the notebook. "Alright, I can do this." 

All he has to do is focus on the now, and not think about the flower monster. Or...

He shakes his head quickly, trying to shake the thought from his head.

_Don't think about it._

But now that he's trying not to think about it, he can't help but think about it.

_Keep moving forward._

_Don't stop._


	35. eleven years old pt. three

While to anyone else it would have appeared that Darwin simply flung himself off the bridge into the abyss, he'd actually timed his jump to land on a ledge several feet below. Pressing himself against the wall, he waits for them to leave.

"Do you...do you think they're still alive?"

Darwin inches further along the ledge, hoping he won't be spotted if any one of them happens to look down. 

The female voice responds. "Maybe we should jump after them...but then we might be able to climb back up."

 _Seriously?_ Darwin thinks, ignoring the fact that he did just the same just a mere two seconds ago.  _At least I planned ahead._

_Sort of._

To his disappointment, he hears only one of them leave.

 

From the sound of footsteps above, Darwin assumes that the person above him is probably pacing back and forth across the bridge. 

_Option One: Wait until the coast is clear._

_Option Two: Climb back up and run when the monster is on the far end of the bridge._

As much as he likes the idea of option one, it probably isn't a good idea, especially since he heard one of them say they were getting backup. That means at least one new person he'll have to deal with, and the odds were already against him even from the start. 

Darwin isn't a fighter, and the only thing he can vaguely remember relating to the subject is that you're not supposed to punch with your thumb inside your fist, and even then he's still not sure if it's that or the other way around.

So when the footsteps are at the other end of the bridge, Darwin scrambles up the side. 

"Hey!"

_Crap._

The fish monster is rushing at him, and Darwin knows he can't run. 

"Stay away!" he gasps, and the fish monster stops a few feet away from him. 

"I'm not here to hurt you!" she says, eyebrows rising. "Didn't the other humans tell you that?"

_Other humans?_

"What other humans?"

The fish monster looks at him dubiously. "Like Louis. You mean, you didn't notice that he's human?"

"It's not like I had enough time to ask!" Darwin protests, still not entirely convinced.

"I am human." 

Whirling around, Darwin takes a swing at the person behind him. Misses by a hair.

"Good reflexes, kid." It's the other monster, the backup the two must have mentioned earlier. Darwin freezes in place, because unlike the other two, this looks like an adult.

"Look," the other human says, "I can prove you're safe down here. But you gotta trust me first. Can you do that?"

Darwin considers the hand the kid is offering him.

Reaches out gingerly.

Shakes it slightly.

"Alright, but don't think I'm going to let my guard down."


	36. eleven years old pt. four

"My name's Louis," the teen says with a grin. Darwin doesn't smile back, his gaze focused on the fish monster standing close enough that an Encounter could take place, one that Darwin would most likely lose. The only advantage Darwin has is that fish monster is standing on the bridge, and maybe Darwin could shove her off...but then the other two would probably attack.

"I'm Darwin," he says, trying not to show his fear, straightening his shoulders so that he appears much more confident than he actually is.

"I'm Undyne! And this is my mom, Zenobia! She's the captain of the Royal Guard!"

Zenobia waves. "Nice to meet you, kid."

"Don't worry," Undyne says in a reassuring voice, "monsters don't eat humans or anything like that." She's only standing a few feet away from Darwin, so he backs up a few steps, having not even considered that possibility.

Zenobia sighs. "Undyne, don't freak the kid out. Come back here, you're making him nervous. Hey, kid," she now says to Darwin, "do you think you'd like to talk with Louis?" It's hard to tell, but she doesn't sound like she's lying. Her voice is calm, sincere.

Darwin studies the adult monster. "Sure, I guess."

Louis comes closer, and the smaller fish monster backs off. Louis' smile is genuine as he says, "Don't worry, you're safe here."

"Nowhere's really safe," Darwin mutters, recent memories sharp and all too detailed in his mind. "But okay. Sure." 

"It is!" Louis insists. 

Darwin eyes the other human dubiously. "Everyone here has tried to kill me. Isn't that the motto down here? Kill or be killed?"

"Where did you get that idea?" Zenobia asks, while a look of understanding is now in Louis' eyes.

"You mean Flowey. Yeah, he's...not...listen, he's the exception," Louis explains.

Undyne tugs on her mother's arm. "Hey, mom, do you want me to get King Fluffybuns?"

"King Fluffybuns?"

Zenobia grins. "It's what we call King Asgore. Don't worry, he couldn't hurt a fly. Is it alright if my daughter brings him here?"

Darwin considers the question. It doesn't really sound like a trap, and at the very least, she's giving him the illusion of choice. "Maybe some other time?" he asks.

Zenobia nods. "Sure thing."


	37. eleven years old pt. five

"☟︎□︎●︎♎︎ ⬧︎⧫︎♓︎●︎●︎📪︎ ⧫︎♒︎♓︎⬧︎ ⬥︎♓︎●︎●︎ □︎■︎●︎⍓︎ ⧫︎♋︎🙵♏︎ ♋︎ ❍︎□︎❍︎♏︎■︎⧫︎📬︎" Gaster mutters, adjusting some wires attached to a machine that resembles a handheld game the size of a refrigerator. Pressing some buttons, he turns to face Darwin."

"✌︎❒︎♏︎ ⍓︎□︎◆︎ ❒︎♏︎♋︎♎︎⍓︎ ⧫︎□︎ ♌︎♏︎♑︎♓︎■︎✍︎" Gaster says. From his tone, it sounds like he might be asking a question, but Darwin isn't entirely sure.

"Um, I'm sorry, I can't understand you," Darwin admits, shifting on the plastic seat uncomfortably. 

"⚐︎♒︎📫︎" The doctor stops short, before rushing off to his work desk, which is so covered in papers and other scientific doo-dads that they completely cover the surface.  

Grabbing a small device, he clips it onto his lab coat. 

**"DO YOU UNDERSTAND ME NOW?"**

"Yeah. Hey, what does that device to anyway?"

**"IT INTERPRETS MY SIGNS, AS WELL AS WHAT I'M SAYING, COMBINING THEM TO GIVE MY WORDS INFLECTION. MAKING THIS WAS A COLLABORATIVE EFFORT, AND IT TURNED OUT WAY BETTER THAN I THOUGHT IT WOULD. YOU SEE, WE HAD TO MAKE IT FILTER OUT ANY OTHER GESTURES IN THE ROOM, BECAUSE...WAIT, I'M RAMBLING AGAIN. I'M SORRY."**

"That's okay."

**"ANYWAY, THE REASON I HAVE YOU HEAR IS BECAUSE...WELL, YOU MENTIONED TO ZENOBIA EARLIER ABOUT YOU ALMOST GETTING KILLED BY A FLOWER MONSTER NAMED FLOWEY. HAVE YOU HAD ANY OTHER ENCOUNTERS SINCE THEN?"**

"Yeah. But...um, do some monsters not have souls or something?"

Gaster stills. 

**"WHAT DO YOU MEAN BY THAT?"**

Darwin's pretty sure Gaster already knows the answer, but he replies with, "He said his name was Flowey. Kind of a weird name, huh?"

**"...PRETTY WEIRD. BUT I WOULD RECOMMEND STAYING AWAY FROM HIM FOR NOW."**

"Not arguing with that."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Because this chapter is so short, I'll write eleven chapters as opposed to the usual ten.
> 
> update: I will be away for the next few weeks, so I won't be able to post as regularly.


	38. eleven and a quarter years old

"CAN I BRUSH YOUR HAIR?" Papyrus begs, eyes wide and pleading as he stands in front of Darwin, who's quietly sitting on the couch in Gaster's living room, reading a rather large book about the size of the preteen's head.

Darwin, not looking up from his book, grumbles, "Go ask someone else. Like..." he pauses, because he can't quite remember what Papyrus just asked him, but he just goes with it, anyway."Sans. Go ask Sans." 

Papyrus giggles. "SANS DOESN'T  _HAVE_ HAIR!"

"Mhm." Darwin flips to the next page, making sure not to tear any of the edges. "What did you want me to do?" Darwin forces himself to ask, knowing that by doing so he has pretty much roped himself into Papyrus' latest plan. 

"CAN I BRAID YOUR HAIR?"

"..."

"I PROMISE NOT TO HURT YOU! I KNOW HEAD HAIR IS VERY SENSITIVE, SO I WILL BE SUPER _DUPER_ CAREFUL."

_"You really should get this cut," Albert laughs, untangling a particularly tough knot._

_Darwin winces at his brother's rough treatment, but defiantly shouts, "_ _Never!"_

"Alright."

Scrambling onto the couch, Papyrus fidgets while Darwin puts his book down. "Don't tug," Darwin warns. 

"I WON'T!"

Carefully, Papyrus begins running the brush through Darwin's long hair, which is almost as pale as his own bones, long enough to reach just past the preteen's shoulders. 

"So," Darwin begins, "why are you so interested in brushing my hair?" 

"I READ IN A BOOK THAT HAIR BRAIDING IS A GOOD WAY TO SPEND TIME WITH FRIENDS! WELL, IT DIDN'T REALLY SAY IT EXACTLY, BUT KIRSTY AND HER FRIENDS SEEMED TO BOND OVER THIS STRANGE RITUAL, SO I DECIDED TO TRY IT OUT! BUT YOU'RE THE ONLY ONE WITH HAIR LONG ENOUGH TO BRAID."

"Kirsty?" Darwin asks, eyebrows raised.

"KIRSTY! YOU KNOW, FROM THE BOOK,  _GIGGLE GIRLS VOLUME TWO: RISE OF DARKNESS AND DESPAIR._ "

"I thought that book was about summoning demons from the depths of the sewers and learning about the true power of hair conditioner."

"IT IS! BUT THERE'S ALSO SLUMBER PARTIES AND GOSSIPING ABOUT BOYS!"

 

 

Officially, Darwin has his own apartment, but his is right next to Doctor Gaster's apartment, and most of the monsters also living there keep an eye out for him- and those who don't have eyes keep an equivalent to that. 

It's mostly nice, having a place of his own. 

But right now, Darwin's lying in bed, alone and afraid, unable to stop thinking about...

_"Darwin, you're safe. No one is ever going to hurt you again," Wallace says, his voice soft and sincere._

So he gets out of bed, and walks through the entire apartment flipping on every single lightswitch he passes. In the kitchen, he makes himself a peanut-butter and banana sandwich.

The sound of the clock ticking is far too loud in the otherwise silent apartment.

_"All you have to do is promise me you won't say anything. Me and you were out for the day when this happened, yeah? Neither of us were here. All you have to do is tell them this, and everything will be alright."_

_Wallace has always been an excellent liar._

_Darwin...isn't._

 

"My brother used to brush my hair," Darwin tells Papyrus. "He was good at doing braids, but not much else. Still, he was the only one in my family who could do anything hair-related."

"YOU HAVE A BROTHER?"

"Two, actually. Both of them are ten years older than me."

"TWINS? WOWIE! DID THEY LOOK ALIKE?"

"Yep. In fact," Darwin says proudly, "I was one of the few people who could tell them apart from one another." 

_"From now on, I'm Albert. But...I need you to go along with this. Got it?"_

_"Yes...Albert."_

_The name tastes like ashes in his mouth._

_"Good." Wallace steps forward, hand outstretched, as though to pat him on the head, and Darwin instinctively dodges._

_Wallace grins ruefully. "Guess you're still a little shaky. I understand."  
_

 

Everything's going to be okay, Darwin tells himself over and over again. Wallace will be fine enough without him, and maybe will be a little relieved, because Darwin is a terrible liar who cracks easily under pressure. 

Down here, it's safer, because no one even knows enough to ask any questions. Not any important ones, anyway. And that's good. 

Everything's going to be okay.


	39. twelve years old pt. one

"Have you heard of the theory of evolution?"

"sort of. i think the doc mentioned something like it once."

Both of them are lying on the floor of Gaster's apartment, staring up at the ceiling. It's an unreasonably hot day, even for Hotland, and the hardwood floor is the coolest place (literally) to be lying down on, even if it isn't that comfortable. 

"Basically the theory is that every species survive and develop through tiny changes in their genetic makeup and stuff. The idea is that in order for a species to survive it needs to adapt to its environment."

"huh."

"Anyway, the man who came up with that theory was named Charles Darwin."

"like you."

"Yep. My dad...named all of us after scientists."

"cool."

"I guess so." Darwin hesitates for a moment. "Teachers used to joke about my name. Said that of course I liked science, they knew it when they saw my name. And it always annoyed me. But I never said anything. Sometimes I wish I had."

"but you _do_ like science."

Darwin huffs, crossing his arms. "Yeah, but not because of my name!"

Sans snorts. "i know, i know."

A comfortable silence passes. 

"so...you think monsters go through this evolutionary thing?"

"Maybe?"

"i'll ask dad later."

Darwin sighs. "That crack on the ceiling kind of looks like a rabbit," he says, and Sans looks where he's pointing. 

"i don't see it."

"Just twist your head a little."

"wait, i think i see what you're talking about."

"Yeah?"

"yeah."


	40. twelve years old pt. two

The King and Queen occasionally visit Gaster to see how he and the children are doing. Sans likes sharing puns with Queen Toriel, while Papyrus and Casey and Undyne like teaming up and challenging Asgore in a 3 vs 1 battle- which they usually lose despite them having the advantage of two extra people. 

Darwin, on the other hand, makes sure that he's never around to see either of them. 

"WHY DON'T YOU WANT TO MEET THEM?" Papyrus asks, and Darwin blinks sleepily at him from the doorway.

"Papyrus, it's..." Darwin checks his wrist, only to remember he's never worn a wristwatch in his entire life, "...late. I was sleeping. You should be sleeping."

"I ALREADY SLEPT A WHOLE ENTIRE HOUR!"

"I'm going back to bed. Good night." 

Not bothering to close the door, Darwin shuffles further into the apartment. He's so drowsy that he doesn't have the energy to be startled when Papyrus grabs him by the hand. "THEY'RE VERY NICE," Papyrus says, in a surprisingly soft tone. "THEY'D LOVE TO MEET YOU!"

Tugging his hand free, Darwin mumbles, "Doesn't mean they can be trusted," before collapsing on the couch, falling asleep in less than a second.

 

Adults are difficult to understand, but adults with a lot of power are even trickier. The king and queen must be very powerful, and therefore they probably aren't trustworthy. 

_What did they do to get this power?_

 

Someone is knocking at the front door in a rather polite fashion. Blearily, Darwin opens his eyes. He's still lying on the couch, but now there's a blanket draped over him. Must have been Papyrus. 

"Howdy," calls an unfamiliar voice from the other side. "Is this a bad time?"

Darwin yawns, but gets up anyway. "No, it's fine," he lies as he shuffles towards the door, now glad he fell asleep with his clothes on. When he opens the door, Darwin immediately realizes he's made a mistake- standing in front of him is a giant goat monster wearing a purple cape- because this must be the king that he's been trying to avoid _ever_ coming face to face with. 

The only thing that stops him from slamming the door is the king's smile. Because it's a soft smile, but it's also a sad smile, of someone who has experienced a terrible kind of loss. So Darwin stays where he is, looking up at the king cautiously (because the king is still rather gigantic, looming over Darwin in a way that makes him feel so very small.)

"Howdy," the goat monster says, scratching the back of his neck. "I'm sorry to intrude, but...well, your friend Papyrus made me realize that I...well, I just wanted to say hello...my name is Asgore...you can call me Asgore if you would like too, or King Fluffybuns if you prefer...that's a friendly nickname my subjects call me sometimes." He sounds a little awkward, and a little nervous as well.

_He's worried about scaring me._

And that is enough for Darwin to smile back, and say hello, albeit a bit cautiously. 

He still doesn't want to let the king inside, and luckily Asgore seems to pick up on this fact.

"Well, it's a pleasure to meet you," Asgore says, his smile soft and his voice genuine.

Darwin just nods, but Asgore doesn't seem offended at all.


	41. twelve years old pt. three

When Darwin fell into the Underground, he brought with him two things: a pair of glasses, and a rather large notebook. Both of them have proven to very very useful, but if Darwin had to choose between one or the other, he would pick the glasses every time. 

"how bad is it?" Sans asks over breakfast. "your vision, i mean." Three out of four members of the Gaster household are sitting at the table with Darwin- Casey, Papyrus, and Sans. Normally Gaster would also be there to have breakfast with them, but after a long night of doing...science stuff, he's passed out on the couch, snoring away like a freight train. 

Someone's drawn a monocle around one of Gaster's eye sockets in black sharpie, probably the work of either Casey or Sans. Darwin hasn't bothered asking, because the less he knows about this, the better off he'll be in the long run.

Anyway, back to Sans' question.

"Kind of bad. My vision is like a stuffed animal," Darwin says. When everyone looks perplexed, he explains with a smile, "It's fuzzy."

All of them laugh, Papyrus giggling the hardest, while Sans' laugh is more a relaxed chuckle. . 

"Anyway," Darwin adds, "I have astigmatism, which means things are blurry up close  _and_ far away. Luckily, I have the normal kind of astigmatism, which means my vision can be corrected with these glasses," Darwin says, poking the frame lightly with a single finger. 

Casey gets up, walks to the counter, and shoves a piece of bread into something that vaguely resembles a toaster.

"CAN I TRY THEM ON?" Papyrus begs, and Darwin hesitates. 

"I dunno, I mean, I trust you, but these are really important to me. Besides, you don't...um...have any ears." 

Papyrus slumps for a second, then straightens up with his eyes sparkling. "I'VE GOT IT! YOU COULD HOLD THE GLASSES UP TO MY FACE! ....IF THAT'S OKAY WITH YOU."

"Alright, but be careful."

Darwin takes off his glasses, and holds them in front of Papyrus' face. The taller skeleton blinks.

"I CAN'T...EVERYTHING IS BLURRY. WEIRD!" 

Casey, who had been occupied waiting for her toast, says, "That makes sense. Congratulations, Paps. You have normal vision." The toast pops up, and she startles for a moment. Grabbing the toast, she drops it on a nearby plate. "Anyone see the jam?" 

"it's on the table." 

"Thanks."

Grabbing the jar, Casey spreads a thick layer of jam across her bread. Then she dips the knife back in the jam jar, and spreads another layer on top of that. Darwin looks on in amazement as she takes a bite of the toast, jam spilling over onto her hands and dripping down to the countertops.

Darwin can only watch in horror. Meanwhile, Sans and Papyrus continue eating their eggs and toast, completely used to their sister's weird eating habits.

From the living room, there's the sound of feet hitting the floor. When Gaster shuffles into the kitchen, all of them do their best not to stare at the doodle on Gaster's face. 

Gaster looks at them with a confused expression.  **"WHAT? IS THERE SOMETHING ON MY FACE?"**

"nope."


	42. blue soul (integrity) prologue

When Ash had woken up in the morning, she had no clue that, in less than nine hours, she would be falling into another world. 

It had been an average day of school, meaning it was boring and seemed to go on forever, but nothing particularly terrible or interesting happened. But for some reason, when the bell rang at the end of the day, she left school and began walking in the opposite direction that she normally took to get home. 

She walked to the bus stop, and took a ride to the outskirts of town, spending the last of her allowance on bus fare. 

Much later, she wouldn't be able explain why she did this. Her thoughts had been strangely blank at the time, her sole focus on just getting away. 

All she knew was that she didn't want to go home.

 

Ash hadn't planned on climbing Mount Ebott. If the old woman hadn't started asking questions at a gas station, asking about where her parents were, she probably wouldn't have climbed it at all. But with the woman offering to call her parents for her, saying she would get someone to help, Ash knew she had to get away.

(She got away by first pretending she had to use the restroom, then climbing out the bathroom window.)

 

Ash's name is actually Ashley. People used to call her Ashley, and she didn't mind one bit.

Then on day, she came into school with her hair dyed dark blue-black, refusing to answer to any name other than Ash, and no one but her and her parents knew why.


	43. part one

Climbing a mountain while wearing ballet shoes was not a particularly smart decision; even though the mountain's slope is pretty much a gentle incline, her thin shoes still struggle to find purchase on the ground. 

When she changed from her school uniform into her ballet outfit in a fast food restaurant, her plan had been that it would throw off anyone who might have been looking for her. At the time, the idea had made perfect sense. 

Now, hiking up the mountain wearing slippery shoes, Ash regrets all the life choices that led her here. 

The air is hot and muggy; every few minutes Ash has to swat a mosquito away, and sweat is streaming down from her forehead, upper arms, and neck. 

_I should have just gone home._

But she couldn't do it then, not when her entire world has just been flipped upside down. 

 

 

When it starts raining, she curses under her breath as the light sprinkling quickly becomes pouring out from the sky like the clouds had really needed to go to the bathroom, and had been holding it in for hours. 

Luckily, she spots what looks like a small cave, and she dashes over to it at full speed. When she reaches the mouth of the cave, her foot catches on a tree root, and she trips. 

 

"And that's how I fell down here," Ash explains to the flower, who's looking at her with a dumbfounded expression.

"Seriously? That's stupid." 

Ash shrugs. "You don't need to be a jerk about it."

 

Turns out the flower's name is Flowey (Ash avoids making any jokes about the silliness of naming a flower "Flowey," of all things,) and she introduces herself as well. 

"I'm Ash." 

For a second, Ash holds out a hand, then it clicks that Flowey won't be able to shake back, so she turns the gesture into an awkward wave.

 

Flowey laughs. "Well, it's nice to meetcha! Say, you wanna play a game?" Flowey asks, button-round eyes sparkling. Ash shrugs.

"Sorry, but I need to get out of here," Ash apologizes, feeling a bit bad about turning the little guy down. Flowey, however, doesn't look perturbed at all, and Ash is relieved that he isn't upset.

"Don't worry, you have lots of time to play!" Flowey says cheerfully. "After all, you'll probably be here _**for the rest of your life.**_ "

Ashley can only stare, fear freezing her in place. "What?" is all she can stutter out. Flowey winks, expression changes back from "nightmare fodder," to "cheerful facade." 

Flowey sticks his tongue out briefly. "Don't be such a silly pants! I'm not going to hurt you! I'm just here to help! You see, you may not know this, but you're UNDERGROUND."

When this fails to illicit a response, Flowey continues, his voice a little more strained. "Anyway, no one can escape. Don't even bother."

Ash stares at Flowey for a bit longer, then sits down on the ground. "Sure," she says, voice dazed, "I'm trapped in here with only a talking flower for company."

Flowey scowls. "What, am I not good enough? Well, fine! Be that way!" With that, he burrows himself back into the ground. 

"Wait!" Ash calls, but it's too late. 

Flowey is gone. 


	44. part two

Travelling through the ruins proves to be a nerve-wracking experience. It's just...so quiet down here, almost like the calm before the storm. 

In several areas, there are what looks like large-scale puzzles, which would have been a nice distraction from the feeling of dread, but all of them are already solved. Then again, it's probably for the best, because some of them look a bit dangerous.

Ash is pretty sure Flowey is following her- every time she turns around, she sees a flash of green and yellow out of the corner of her eye.

 

When she reaches the bowl of candy, Ash considers grabbing as many handfuls as she can, before just taking one. The sign, after all, says to only take a single piece.

The candy tastes like magic and sugar on her tongue. 

 

"What are you doing?"

Ash opens an eye to peer at the irritated flower in front of her. "I'm taking a break. 'm tired." Sure, the ground isn't the most comfortable place to curl up and take a nap on, but she doesn't have enough energy to find a better spot. 

Something pokes her arm, sharply. This time she opens both eyes. "Fine, fine. What do you want?" she grumbles.

Flowey scowls. "Nothing."

"Okay." She closes her eyes again. Flowey scoffs.

"See if I care." 

She must have fallen asleep after that, because when she opens her eyes again, Flowey is long gone. 

What a surprise.

There is, however, a rude message scrawled into the dirt.

(Flowey's handwriting is surprisingly neat for someone without hands or fingers.)

 


	45. part three

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Brief note: Tokage is the monster with a scarf who's an editor for the Snowdin newspaper. I couldn't find any reference to what her name could be, so I'm calling her Tokage.  
> As for Lady Garf, she's the other editor of the Snowdin newspaper, the one who says she's the number one wordsearch maker in the entire Underground. For her, I just stuck with the sprite name.

The job of an editor/reporter for Snowdin News is a pretty boring, to be honest. Well, not  _boring_ boring, but there's not much to report on. In all the years she's worked for Snowdin News, the only time there was anything newsworthy were the times when a human fell into the Underground.

And, not to brag or anything, but those were the best four articles she's ever written. 

Still, Tokage loves her job. Loves it. 

Tokage loves writing, she loves  _words_. So it's no wonder that her favorite place in Snowdin is the library, or as the sign reads, _librarby_. (The editor is Tokage cringes everytime she reads it, but apparently the misspelling is considered charming and is beloved by the majority of their town.)

Sitting at the table in the library, Tokage stares down at the piles of paper in front of her, papers which will one day become the first book she's ever written. 

A  _proper_ book, not just some dumb ideas cobbled together all willy nilly. This will be her  _magnum opus.  
_All she has to do is finish the dang thing. 

 

When Tokage had come to the librarby (about eight hours earlier), she'd been well prepared for a day of writing. She'd brought her lucky purple pen, a mug of her favorite coffee, and her mind had been whizzing and whirling with so many ideas.

But now that she's actually sat down, Tokage's brain has gone completely blank, empty just like the piece of paper in front of her. 

Maybe ending the last chapter with a cliffhanger was a bad idea, because now she has no idea how to resolve it. She could have the love interest lose his grip on the edge of said cliff and fall into the pit of darkness, which would give her enough time to actually decide what the plot twist he's was about to reveal to his love is actually going to be.

Tokage takes a sip of her (now cold) coffee, wishing she was precise enough with fire magic to heat up the contents of her cup without burning the library down around her. She  _could_ microwave it, or even try to reboil it, but she knows from experience that those attempts only result in sadness and disappointment.

 

Looking at the last page she'd written, Tokage is less confident than she'd been the night before. 

_I wish Lady Garf were here. She always has good ideas._

Then the door opens, and Lady Garf is standing there, as though Tokage's thoughts had summoned the other monster there.

"Lady Garf! I thought you said you weren't coming in today," Tokage says teasingly. 

"I thought I wouldn't, but something came up," Lady says unhelpfully, stepping into the room. Once she does, however, Tokage sees that she's holding someone's hand. They look like...

"Oh, are you a human?" Tokage asks, and they nod silently. 

Although the human isn't wearing stripes, she's pretty sure they're a child (didn't Cody mention that on the Surface, their traditions are different?) 

"I'm Ash," they say, voice quiet and uncertain. 

"Hello, Ash," Tokage says with a smile. "It's nice to meet you." Standing up, she makes her way around the table. "I see you've met my partner in crime."

Ash looks to Lady Garf in confusion, who grins, ruffling the kid's hair. "She means me," Lady Garf explains. Ash nods.

"And no, we're not actually criminals," Tokage interjects, seeing the look in Ash's eye. "It's just a term I read in a book."

 

It'd been Flowey who lead her out of the Ruins, and although the path wasn't really complicated, it was nice having someone else there. Even if said flower refused to talk to her the entire trip. It had been eerie, listening to nothing but silence (she'd never known how overwhelming it can be), so she just started talking. A monologue of some sorts, about whatever she could think of.

"I'm not sure if I want to be a professional ballet dancer. My teacher says that with enough work and practice, I might be able to make a career out of it, but... I kind of just like dancing for the fun of it. I actually was supposed to go to practice today. I just...couldn't go. Anyway, I take other kinds of dance lessons as well..."

Ash had never talked so much in her entire life, yet there she was, spilling out everything to a bored looking flower. And she kept talking, all the way until they reached a strange looking door. 

"It's cold out there," Flowey had said. "Wear a coat. Or don't. I could care less."


	46. part four

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Since the librarian monster doesn't seem to have a name, she's now going to be called Clewis.  
> The one-eyed monster is referred to as 'mikewazowski', so I decided to just call him Wazowski.

Tokage and Lady Garf offer to take Ash to the nearby inn, but she hesitates. When Lady Garf asks if she would like to stay in their apartment- "Just to warm up, you look like you're going to turn into a popsicle!"- she agrees. Tokage smiles at Ash.

"Want to see something cool?" she asks, and before Ash can answer. Tokage heads over to the desk, then crawls underneath it. 

_click!_

Suddenly, a door appears on the right side wall."How did-"

"Magic," Lady Garf says primly.

Tokage pops out from underneath the desk with a frown. "Garfy, you can't just-"

The other monster sighs dramatically. "This really isn't the time for semantics, not when we have a guest!" Turning to Ash, she says kindly, "This door leads to our apartment. Follow me."

Ash watches as Lady Garf trots over to the door, opening it with a flourish. Behind the door is a small staircase leading to another door, presumably to the apartment in question.   
Placing a door stopper down, Lady Garf heads upstairs. Ash looks to Tokage, who smiles reassuringly. So Ash follows Lady Garf up the stairs.

Behind her, Tokage calls, "I'm going to stay down here, I promised Clewis I'd hold down the fort while she's visiting her cousin at Hotland. Plus, I'm pretty sure Wazowski is going to show up for his daily puzzle at some point."

"Alright," Lady Garf calls back, opening the door. "if you need me for anything, let me know." Garf enters the apartment, and Ash follows slowly behind.

She's in what looks like a combination between a living room, dining room, and kitchen all at once. In the center of the room is a rather large bookcase with three shelves, however, there is only a single book on the top shelf. Surrounding the bookcase are several comfy chairs, one red, one yellow, and other one plaid.

To the east are several counters, a small sink, and an old fashioned-looking oven. On one of the counters are some salt shakers and an rusty coffee maker. 

To the west is a round oak table, which looks like it was probably made using wood from the forest of Snowdin.

On the north wall there are two closed doors, also made of wood.

 

The walls of the rooms are painted a soft blue color that reminds Ash of the sky, and the carpet is a faded light purple. 

"Don't worry about dripping water on the carpet, its been through a lot already. Usually from 'Kage spilling coffee. Don't tell her I said that, even though it's true," Lady Garf says, her voice fond. "Why don't you take off your wet socks and shoes, they're probably soaked." Lady Garf hurries to the door on the right, opening it and heading inside, leaving said door ajar. Ash carefully peels off her shoes and socks, then stands there, uncertain where to put them. Lady Garf comes out with several fluffy towels.

"You can just leave your stuff on the ground right where you are. I'll make you a nice pot of coffee, and you can dry off. If you want some privacy, that's the bathroom," Lady Garf points to the still open door. 

"Thank you," Ash says, heading to the bathroom, picking up the towels along the way. 

 

**Summer clutches the edge of the cliff with all his might, trembling underneath the strain of gravity. August, clutching the back of his jacket, struggles to pull her lover up and onto the relative safety of the ground nearby the cliff, which is of course, still a relatively dangerous place to stand.**

**Alas, as she is a monster made of water, and he of stone, it is impossible for her to actually pull him up to safety.**

**"This may be the end," Summer gasps dramatically, sweat pouring down his head like tears in the rain.**

**"No!" August cries, struggling to hold on to her love. "There must be another way!"**

**"It is too late for me, my love. Take my barbells and heavy weights, for these are my legacy."**

**"Wait, barbells and heavy weights? Why didn't you just drop them, you idiot!"**

**"Take them," Summer cries, throwing said barbells at August. In doing this, Summer lets go of the cliff.**

**August watches in horror as her love falls in slow motion down into the abyss.**

 

"And then..." Tokage taps her pen against the blank paper. "Hmmmm...he should something profound to say as he's falling to his doom. But what?"

 

~~**"AAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!" Summer shouts as he falls** ~~

~~~~"No, too cliche."

~~**"Don't worry, I'm not actually going to die! This is just to be dramatic!"** ~~

~~~~But that would give away the fact that she's just stretching out the story for no good reason just because she hasn't decided the secret Summer was going to tell August was.

~~**"Perhaps this was a bad idea!"** ~~

"Too obvious. Hmmmmmm...."

**"Remember the alamo!"**

"Well, I don't know what it means, exactly, but it sounds alright. Nice and dramatic, with an air of mystery and intrigue."

 

Then, the library door opens once more. Like Tokage had predicted, it's Wazowski. "I heard there's a new word search," he says excitedly. "Is it true? Can I see it?"

He's practically leaping in excitement. "Yeah, Garfy just made another one last night. Kept me up for ages cause she wouldn't turn off the light. So I went to sleep in the bathtub instead."

"Ouch," Wazowski says sympathetically.

"It's alright. My back is pretty stiff, though."

"Ouch." 

 "Anyway, here's the puzzle." Tokage hands him the latest puzzle, and Wazowski takes it, eye shining. 

"Thanks! Hey, do you have an extra pen?"

"Have mine. I'm out of inspiration right now."

 

Lady Garf left some dry clothes by the bathroom door, saying it was alright for Ash to take a shower, and to use as much hot water as she wanted. Despite the go-ahead, Ash takes a brief shower, not wanting to waste too much hot water. Her hair isn't dirty or anything, so she doesn't put in any shampoo or conditioner. 

Toweling herself dry, Ash pulls on the offered pants and shirt. No underwear, but hers are dry enough by now that it doesn't matter. The new clothes are a little big, but are nice and soft. 

When Ash comes out, Lady Garf has a cup of coffee waiting, as well as a bowl of soup. "It's from a can, I hope you don't mind."

Ash shakes her head. "It's alright. What kind of soup is it?"

"Tomato."

Sitting down at the table, Ash smiles at Lady Garf. "Thank you."

The soup tastes a bit bitter, but it's still delicious. Ash tells Lady Garf this, and the monster smiles back.

"It's nothing, really."

"HEY GARFY, CASEY'S HERE!" Tokage shouts.

Lady Garf winces. "I do wish she would stop yelling." Heading to the staircase, she opens the door, and bellows, "STOP SHOUTING! I'LL BE DOWN IN A SECOND." Turning to Ash, Lady Garf says, in a normal voice, "Casey's another human who fell down here a while ago. Would you like to meet them?"

"Uhhh...I guess?"

The two of them head downstairs together.


	47. part five

Meeting Casey had been...not that great of an experience. Mind you, it's kind of hard to be told that  _hey, you'll never be able to leave this place unless you kill a boss monster, and even if you **tried**...well you're not going to have a good time._

(Okay, so Casey didn't say it like that, but Ash's good at reading between the lines.)

But she'd been too tired to say much, and eventually Tokage said she could stay in their apartment overnight, if she wanted to. 

And Ash agreed, because even though she felt bad about inconveniencing them, she really didn't want to go outside, and she  _especially_ didn't want to meet anyone else new, not when her whole world was crumbling around her. 

 

"Here's the guest room," Tokage says, opening the door. It's a pretty nice room, although its a bit barren- aside from a bed, there isn't any other furniture. In the corner of the room are several large cardboard boxes. But the wallpaper is a cheerful yellow, patterned with little blue fish, and the floor is carpeted and rather soft underneath Ash's bare feet.

"I'll let you settle in," Tokage says, and Ash nods, too tired to talk. Luckily, Tokage seems to get this. "If you need anything, Lady Garf will be in the main room."

Tokage leaves, gently closing the door behind her. Ash flops on the bed, and is asleep as soon as her head hits the pillow.

 

_"Ashley, your mother and I need to talk."_

_"About what? Am I in trouble?"_

_"No, no. You're not in trouble. Your mom and I just need to tell you something important."_

_But it's hard to pay attention when there's a dolphin wearing a top hat just floating in the corner of the room._

_"Pay attention. This will be about 80% of your grade."_

_But her feet are sinking into piles of melting swiss cheese, and the test is written in what might be Italian._

_"You had a sister. She died two years before you were born. We never mentioned her because...the memory hurt too much."_

_"A sister?"_

 

Awareness comes to Ash slowly as she wakes up, and for a moment she forgets and thinks she's at home. The illusion breaks, of course, as soon as she opens her eyes.

"Guess I wasn't dreaming about that part," she mutters to herself. "How long have I been asleep, anyway?"

Looking around the room, there aren't any clues to answer the question. She isn't tired anymore, though. 

Ash gets out of bed, wobbling for a moment as she regains her balance. 

_Now what?_

She can't remember much about what happened before she fell asleep- didn't Tokage tell her it was okay to look around? 

Now that she's more awake, she notices that there's another door, wide open, that leads to another bathroom. 

_Good to know._

This bathroom turns out to be almost identical to the other one, save for the fact that instead of a shower, there's a clawfoot bathtub. There are a bunch of towels hanging off the edge of the tub. Ash pushes them in, then climbs into the tub as well.

_Don't think about the fact that you're being held hostage by a magical barrier._

_Don't think about the fact that you'll never see your friends again._

_Or your home._

_When you'd "run away", you never thought it would be permanent. That you'd be unable to return._

_Don't think about..._

"Ash? Are you in there?" Lady Garf calls, startling her out of her thoughts. 

"I'm in the bathroom," Ash says. "Do you need me for something?"

"I made dinner, are you hungry?"

Pause.

"I guess so."

 

(Dinner turns out to be a vegetable pie, drizzled with a layer of cheese. It's...not awful, but it isn't something she'll want to eat again in a hurry.)

 

After dinner, Lady Garf goes back down to the library, and Tokage comes up with a stack of papers clutched in her hands. 

Dumping the pile on the couch, she smiles at Ash. "I don't know if I told you this, but I'm writing a book! If you want, you can take a look at it later."

Ash pushes her food around with a fork. "Sounds interesting," she says, focused on making it look like she's eaten more than she actually has. 

"Oh, is that Garfy's vegetable pie?" Tokage asks, coming up to the table. Upon seeing the plate of food, she winces. "You don't have to eat it if you don't want to. Garfy is a good cook, but she likes to experiment sometimes with cooking. This looks like one of her experiments, alright."

"It's fine." 

 Ash goes back to poking the food with her fork. 

"So...uh...you said your name is Ash? Is that a nickname?"

"Yes." 

The silence stretches on, until Tokage follows with an awkward, "Ummm...so, what is it?"

"Ashley. But if you call me that, I'm not going to answer." Ash tries her best to sound cool and uninterested, but she still tenses up anyway. But Tokage just smiles.

"Sure. Thanks for telling me."


	48. part six

Three days later, Cody shows up again, this time with a kid with her. A human kid. When they come in, Cody hangs around the door, and the kid approaches her with a nervous smile. He looks a bit younger than her, with long, dark hair and olive toned skin and wide, pale eyes. He's carrying a large spiral bound notebook in both hands, arms wrapped around the book in an attempt to shield it from some kind of invisible enemy or something. 

When he reaches her table, he sticks out a hand, clearly intending for her to shake it. "Hi, I'm Darwin. You're Ash, right?" he says politely, like he's some kind of adult hiding inside a kid's body. 

Not wanting to hurt the kid's feelings, Ash shakes his hand, withdrawing as soon as she can without making it look like she's recoiling. 

Ash shrugs in response, and the silence stretches a bit too long. 

"Umm...is it okay if I sit down?" Darwin asks, indicating the chair opposite hers. From across the room, she can see Cody is now reading a book titled  _Songs of Innocence and Experience_. 

Ash shrugs, because she honestly doesn't care either way. Darwin takes this as a yes, and sits down. He twiddles his thumbs for a second. "So...my name's Darwin." He's still clutching the notebook tightly. 

"I know. You said that already." Ash says blandly. Darwin looks down at the table.

"Right. Sorry," he mumbles, and Ash feels a bit bad for him. Clearly, this conversation is as comfortable for him as it is for her, and on top of all that, it's not like Ash has attempted to be social in any form.

So she tries a smile, saying in a more friendly tone, "No, it's not your fault. I guess I'm in a bad mood." Darwin looks back up at her, with a small smile of his own.

"It's alright, I would be in a bad mood too." Darwin seems a little bit less nervous, no longer clutching the notebook with such a tight grip. "Anyway, I came here because I heard there was a new kid...and I'm not too good at meeting people...but I thought maybe it would help..." 

"I get it." Realizing she'd been a little short, she adds, "It's nice to meet you."

Darwin's smile grows a little wider. "Hey, if you want, we can go hang out with the other humans? There's four of us in total- well, five including you. Most of them are around our age."

This is what Ash _wants_ to say: "No." 

But instead, she mumbles out something along the lines of, "Maybe," and Darwin nods. 

Casey seems to be totally engrossed in her book, but every now and again she sneaks a glance at the two, as if making sure everything is going smoothly. 

"So..." Darwin says, drawing out the word uncertainty, "what do you like...doing?"

Ash considers the question. "Sleeping, I guess. I like dancing...but just for fun. Not to compete or anything, and I'm not that good anyways."

"That sounds cool," Darwin says, and he actually sounds interested. "The dancing part," he adds, hurriedly. "I've always had two right feet, and I'm not too coordinated, either."

"Two  _right_ feet? Don't you mean, two  _left_ feet?"

"Well, I'm left-handed, so it wouldn't make sense to say two left feet because I'm stronger on my left side."

"I don't think that's how it works, but, whatever." Changing the subject, Ash points to the notebook. "What's that?"

Darwin beams, placing the notebook carefully on the table, before flipping it open. "It's my Observational Journal of the Underground."

Ash flips through the book carefully. There are sketches of plants with descriptions next to them in neat writing. 

"My friend Casey did the drawings," Darwin tells her.

"They're pretty good," Ash says. 

 "This notebook focuses on the plants that grow in the different environments of the Underground. I have other notebooks about different things in the Underground as well."

"Sounds interesting," Ash comments.

Darwin beams. "Thanks!" 

 


	49. age fourteen (three months later)

Ash ends up moving in with Lady Garf and Tokage, but only after she insisted that she would help out around the house and get an actual job in order to pay the two back for their kindness. 

"You don't need to pay us back," Tokage oftens says, "we're doing this because we like having you around. You can stay as long as you like."

Every time, Ash shakes her head. "It makes me feel better." 

So now she works at the Librarby, checking out books and helping Tokage write her novel, which the monster frequently calls it her "magnum opus." No one is really sure what that phrase actually means, not even Tokage, but she insists that it means "important and great." 

What Ash doesn't say, is that helping out makes her feel less like a burden. 

She quietly refuses the offered striped shirt, eventually compromising on a striped scarf, instead. 

 

Clewis' job as head librarian is more ceremonial now, these days. Although she was one of the founders of said library, there are some things that are completely out of her control- i.e, the spelling of the building name in question. No matter how hard she argues in favor of fixing the stupid sign, the rest of Snowdin calls it "traditional," claiming some kind of attachment to the misspelling. The only one she has on her side is Casey, but just having one person doesn't really help her cause. 

(This doesn't stop her from telling every visitor to Snowdin that the sign is in the process of being changed, rather than them that the sign probably won't ever be fixed. Denial can be a beautiful thing, sometimes.) 

 

Wazowski finds the whole thing funny, that traitor, while Lady Garf and Tokage don't really have any strong opinions either way.

As for the new human...well, Clewis hasn't gotten her figured out yet, but she's certain she can get them on her side eventually. 

 

Even though Ash isn't a fan of reading, the library is one of her favorite places in Snowdin. This might be because Snowdin doesn't really have much in terms of entertainment, but still.

Wazowski, who writes articles about video games and movies, lets her critique them as well- a job that mostly involves just playing old school video games and watching various Surface movies and TV shows. The two of them usually don't agree on what's good or bad, but Wazowski is always happy to hear a different opinion. "Then I can pad out the article a bit more," he often says cheerfully.  

(Still, Ash can't but notice that the articles are usually slightly biased in favor of the stuff Wazowski likes, but she doesn't care too much.)

 

The first real friend Ash makes in Snowdin happens to be the strangest monster she's ever met so far. 

They call themselves the River Person. 

Honestly, Ash isn't sure whether what kind of monster they are, or even if they even have an actual body underneath their cloak. 

Still, Ash likes hanging out with them, anyway, even if it can be hard to understand them sometimes. 

 

"Tra la la..."

Ash, sitting on the boat beside the River Person, pokes at the water with a stick. "You got any predictions for me, RP?"

"Tra la la...look both ways...tra la la..."

Ash drops the stick into the water. "How are you doing, anyway?" 

"Tra la la...all's well that ends well..."

"That's good. My day was alright."

The River Person tilts their hood up and down, clearly nodding. "Tra la la...duty calls...tra la la..."

"Oh, someone needs a ride? Lemme get off." Standing up carefully, Ash steps back onto the snow. "See you later, RP." 

The boat stands up, and on quick feet begins to run across the water and out of sight. 

"Still wish I knew how they do that," Ash comments to herself.

 

Ash can't help but think about her family. About her mother, her father, and the older sister she never knew. That the only reason she was born was to replace the daughter her parents lost. 

Ashley #2. 

(She wonders if, in a few years time, there will be an Ashley the third.)


	50. age fifteen (four months later)

 

It's Ash's birthday.

At breakfast with Tokage and Lady Garf, she casually mentions it, not expecting much of a reaction. Both of them smile at her.

"Do you want to do anything?" Lady Garf asks. "I know several cake recipes, do you have a favorite flavor?"

Ash shrugs. "Chocolate, I guess. But you don't have to do anything."

Tokage stands up, and starts gathering the plates up. "I would take Garfy up on that offer, Ash. Her cakes are the best." Placing the dishes in the sink, she starts washing them. 

"I don't want to be a nuisance," Ash starts, but Lady Garf hushes her.

"I love any excuse to bake, so don't think this is a burden to me," the monster assures, and Ash smiles shyly.

"Great!" Tokage says, wiping her soapy hands off with a towel. "Now, if you two will excuse me, I have to go off and...do a thing unrelated to this current situation."

"A thing?" Ash asks.

"Yep. A thing." With that, Tokage hurries out the door, closing it shut behind her. Ash can hear her footsteps going down the stairs.

 

After breakfast, Ash spends a while curled up on the couch in a blanket, watching old movies as Lady Garf putters around the kitchen making the cake.

The sweet smell of chocolate slowly fills the room. "I forgot to ask," Lady Garf says sheepishly, "how old are you now?"

"Fifteen."

On the television, an old romantic comedy plays in Spanish. Ash, who's taken Spanish classes for two years, can only recognize a couple of words, but she thinks she gets the general gist of what's going on.

There's some guy with a pink mustache named Wilfordo who seems to be a news reporter, and he's in love with three people with names that all begin with 's'. 

 

It seems more of a slice of life movie that one with actual plot, but Ash is still mildly entertained.

 

When Ash ran away from home, she hadn't really thought things through. If she had known what would happen, would she have done something different?

...

 

(The cake tastes delicious.)

 


	51. age fifteen (six months later)

All the fallen children- because that's what they're called, apparently- meet up at New Home to talk about...well, Ash isn't really sure _what_. 

It's Clewis who came with her on the trip to the Capital, which they took the River Person's boat to get there. On the way, Clewis presented her with a list of the other humans' names.  

  * Cody
  * Casey
  * Louis
  * Darwin



Clewis, however, only vaguely knows what each of them look like. "I'm bad with faces," she admitted as the boat ran to Hotland, "and names as well. Don't worry, I'm sure they'll introduce themselves."

 

The first thing she notices about the place is the grey-ness of her surroundings. It's kind of jarring, compared to the color and energy of Snowdin.

For a moment, she wishes Clewis was still with her- the librarian monster had left after Ash assured her that she didn't need anyone holding her hand or anything. 

Darwis waiting for her at the front door with a nervous smile, fiddling with the ends of his long braid of hair. "Hi!" he says with a lopsided smile, "you're here!"

Ash shrugs, politely saying, "It's nice to see you again."

Darwin taps his fingers together. "Everyone else is inside." He holds out a hand, then halfway retracts it. Feeling a bit bad for him, she takes his hand in hers.

Darwin leads her into the house. 

Inside the first room, there's another teenager leaning against the wall, eating chips straight from the bag. Looking up at the two of them, the teen lazily waves with her free hand. "Howdy. I'm Casey." 

Casey is wearing a battered old cowboy hat, and Ash tries to make it seem like she's not staring. But the teen grins, tapping on said hat with a grin. "Ah, you see my official uniform?" 

Ash just looks at her, not really sure what to say. Luckily, Darwin explains, "Casey fell Underground wearing the thing. Apparently, it used to barely fit." 

A boy's voice calls from the room to the left, saying, "Then her head got gigantic!"

Casey scowls. "That's Louis." 

Despite the harsh way she said his name, Casey's voice sounds almost fond. 

Ash isn't really sure what to say, so she keeps smiling politely.

Seems like the other "fallen children," are already friends.

Normally, this would make her feel...out of place, like she had no reason to belong. But for some reason, this knowledge only makes her hope that she'll be able to get along with everyone else.  


	52. green soul (kindness) prologue

She hadn't  _meant_ to get her little brother hurt, and it's not  _her_ fault that he tripped over some sticks and hit his head on a rock. But as soon as she saw his head hit the ground, she took off anyway, because her mom and dad had  _told_ her to keep an eye on Gabriel, and she  _didn't_ because she was too busy picking at a scab on her knee to pay attention properly.

And now's she's lost in the middle of the woods, and she's probably going to get eaten by a bear, probably.

Are there bears in this forest?

She can't remember.

Ariel should have just stayed at the camp, even if it meant being yelled at for a little bit, because this is a million times worse than getting scolded.

Because she's hopelessly lost, practically  _dying_ of thirst, and scared out of her mind right now, and she can't figure a way out of this situation.

Ariel's gotten lost before, but that was at the mall, and the nice lady with a badge called her parents over the intercom to pick her up. This is not the mall, and there's no nice lady to help her out.

In fact, there's nobody around to help.

She'll have to figure this out by herself, but that's okay, because she's ten years old, perfectly capable of surviving in the wildness long enough to find her family.

Hopefully.

How big can this forest be, anyway?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Cooking Tip #40: Cool your food before putting it in the fridge or freezer.


	53. part one

"Hey, Ash?" Lady Garf calls from outside the library. "There's a flower out here that says he wants to talk to you."

Ash, nose buried in a book, yells back, "Tell him I'm not here!"

Garf pushes open the door, "Ash, he says he's not going to leave."

"Fine." Ash reluctantly puts her book down. 

"Great," Lady Garf says with a smile, heading upstairs.

 

"Hey Flowey, I didn't know you could leave the Ruins," Ash says, her voice blunt. Flowey gives her a cheesy wink, clearly fake.

"Howdy, Ash! Golly, you sure seem to be in a bad mood! You didn't even say hi!"

"Hi," Ash says in a deadpan tone.

Flowey beams. "Howdy! See, that wasn't so hard, was it?"

Ash calls him several rude swear words, most of them she's quite not sure what they actually mean.

Flowey's grin seems more genuine. "Wowie! Even _I_ didn't know some of those words!" He droops slightly. "But that's kind of a mean thing to call a friend."

"You...want to be my friend?"

"Yep!"

"...Sorry I called you a-"

"That's okay!" Flowey interrupts. "The main point of this is, since we're friends and all, I think I can tell you a  _secret."_

"A secret?" Ash asks, brows raising.

Flowey winks, tongue sticking out. "Yep! A friendship secret! Wanna hear it?"

Ash leans closer. "...Yeah? But this better not be a trick or something."

"Don't worry, it's not," Flowey tells her with a smile. "My secret is..." Flowey's voice becomes quieter. "I saw...a human fall down into the same hole you fell down!"

"Wait-really?"

"Yeah! Isn't that a good secret? I bet you're glad we're friends, aren't you?"

"Did you talk to them?" Ask asks, ignoring Flowey's questions. 

The yellow flower nod his (head? body?) "Yep! They seemed a bit freaked out, though, so I gave them some time alone to think things through."

"Are they okay?"

"Well, probably,"Flowey says unhelpfully. "I can't feel pain or anything like that, so it's kind of hard to tell. But they were walking around and stuff, so I guess that means they weren't dying, probably."

"Probably?" Ash asks in an incredulous tone. Flowey gives her a withering look.

"Well, it's not like I'm a doctor or something!"

Running a hand down her face, Ash asks, "So, have you told anyone else about them?"

"Nope! Just you. I told you, this is a secret."

Ash frowns contemplatively. "I better go and check if they're okay. Flowey, can you lead me there?"

"Sure! It's not like I have anything better to do. Oh, but if you tell anyone else..."

(Flowey's face twists and morphs into a horrifying nightmarish expression.)

_**I' l l  r i p  y o u  l i m b  f r o m  l i m b** _

"If you say so."

Flowey's face reverts back to normal, and he pouts. "You're no fun," he complains bitterly. 

"I know."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Cooking Tip #7: Taste-and season-at every stage of cooking.


	54. part two

Ariel stares at the endless rows and rows of spikes on the ground in front of her with a sinking feeling in her stomach. 

_How is this even a puzzle?!_

_I'm going to be stuck in this cave for the rest of my (probably short and miserable) life._

"No, think positive," Ash mutters to herself. "Someone must have set up these puzzles, which means there has to be a solution...probably."

_But what kind of person would make these kind of puzzles?_

_Wait, maybe they're meant to be traps!_

_This isn't good._

_Did some kind of crazed serial killer who also happened to also like puzzles fall into this hole before I did? Like the bad guy in the movie Rubix's Cube?_

"Hey, kid."

Ash startles. "Who's there! Show yourself, or I'll...I'll...hit you with this frying pan?" 

The voice laughs. "Seriously? I'm all the way over here, how are you supposed to get me?"

She can't even see them, so whoever's speaking is right. 

Wait a second...

"You don't sound like a adult, you sound you're my age!"

There's a pause.

"Excuse me, but I'm not a kid. I'm a  _teenager._ "

"So am I!" Ash lies.

"Look, I can help you get across these spikes," the voice says. 

"Really?"

"Yep. Hang on one second."

Around the corner comes a girl, walking on the spikes. Wait, she not walking on the spikes, it's just the the spikes are retracting as she takes a step. 

There must be a certain pattern, because she doesn't take the direct path. 

Once she reaches the other side, she hold out a hand for Ariel to shake. "I'm Ash."

"Ariel. Were you the one who set up these puzzles?"

"Nope. They were here long before I fell into the Underground. Anyway, follow me."

Ash leads her across the spikes in the reverse pattern. Once they reach the other side, Ash lets her hand go. "Alright, it's a lot easier from here. Some of the puzzles have already been activated, so you can just walk by those."

"Why are there puzzles underneath a mountain, anyway?" Ariel asks, furrowing her brows in confusion. 

Ash sighs, tiredly. "Monsters are very particular about their traditions."

"Monsters? I thought..."

"Yep, monsters are real. Welcome to the Underground."

Ariel almost starts laughing, but stops short at the serious look in the other girl's eyes. 

Ash looks a bit abashed. "Maybe I shouldn't have dumped this all on you like that," she says awkwardly. "But...you were eventually going to find this out, and I thought I might as well rip the band-aid off quickly."

_Monsters aren't real._

Ash must see the doubtful look in her face, because she quickly adds, "Lemme show you a monster, and then you'll know I'm telling the truth."

Cupping a hand around her mouth, she turns and bellows out, "FLOWEY!"

"Golly! You don't need to shout." The flower looks straight at Ariel. "Howdy!" it says in a cheery voice. "I'm Flowey. Flowey the flower."

It's a flower.

A  _talking_ flower. 

Distantly, Ariel can hear herself saying, "Nice to meet you, Flowey. I'm Ariel." 

"Are you okay?" Flowey asks in a cheery tone. "You aren't gonna drop  **d e a d** or something like that?"

"N-no?"

"Great!" Flowey says with a wink.

Ash sighs. "Flowey, stop being creepy. You're freaking out the new kid."

Flowey sticks his(?) tongue out. "Geez, I'm  _sorry_."

(Flowey sounds the exact opposite of being sorry, but Ariel doesn't care at this point.)

The two of them look like they're about to start arguing, so before Ash can say anything else, Ariel asks, "So, um...can you lead me out of here? I really need to get back to the campsite before my parents get even more mad."

Flowey giggles. "Sure, pal! Follow me!"

"Don't tease them," Ash tells Flowey in a stern voice. "You shouldn't get their hopes up like that."

"Wait-" Ariel begins, only to get cut off.

"Aw, c'mon! It was just a little teasing!"

"But-" Ariel's second attempt at speaking goes no better than her first.

"It's just cruel to lead them on like that."

"But it's so boring around here! What else is there to do around here?"

Will they argue back and forth, Ariel considers trying to break up the fight.

_I really don't want to stay here any longer._

So she walks past the squabbling duo, and into the next room.

As she had predicted, they don't seem to notice that she's left them. 

_Guess I better keep going, then._

_Hopefully, there won't be any "puzzles" like the last one._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Cooking Tip #51: If your brown sugar is rock-hard, put it in the microwave for about a minute.


	55. part three

"I'm sorry, my child, but there is no way to leave the Underground," the goat queen (Toriel?) says, her voice soft and her eyes sad. Clearly, she's not happy to tell this to Ariel.

Under normal circumstances, she would feel bad for the queen, but she's pretty sure she's been kidnapped by an underground cult or something. 

Everything else had seemed so nice and friendly.

_I should have known better._

Even though Toriel's sitting in an rocking chair, she still seems threatening. 

"Please," Ariel begs, "I'll do anything you want. Just don't hurt me. I won't tell anyone, either. Just let me go home."

 

Toriel shows her the barrier.

Shows her how no one can pass.

Ariel spends the next hour banging against the Barrier to no avail. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Cooking Tip #17: Always keep lemons in the fridge.


	56. part four

Ariel doesn't know how long she's been sitting in the patch of yellow flowers, because there isn't a watch or clock anywhere and her inside clock (internal clock?) can get wonky sometimes. Everything feels numb, like when she had- 

"ARE YOU OKAY?"

Ariel looks up, and startles.

There's an actual skeleton in front of her, dressed in a striped sweater and brown pants. Despite the fact that he's, you, know, a  _skeleton_ , he isn't really that scary. Maybe it's because he doesn't look like a grown up, Ariel reasons to herself, and therefore less likely to be a murderer. 

The kid is smiling gently as he asks, "IS IT OKAY IF I SIT DOWN?", and Ariel pats the ground next to her.

"Okay."

The skeleton beams, plunking himself down. "MY NAME IS PAPYRUS!" he says cheerfully. "I LIVE WITH MY DAD, MY BROTHER, AND MY SISTER IN HOTLAND!" The area above his nosehole scrunches up. "WE'RE MOVING TO SNOWDIN IN ABOUT A MONTH OR SO."

_Snowdin?_

"I remember Snowdin," Ariel says. "It was cold. And its name had a pun."

Papyrus groans. "DON'T REMIND ME. MY BROTHER, SANS, KEEPS MAKING SNOW AND ICE PUNS NONSTOP, STARTING FROM WHEN HE FOUND OUT WE WERE MOVING."

The resignation in his voice startles a laugh out of her.

 

_Outside the throne room, Sans whispers to Casey, "looks like pap's working his magic," and Casey nods in agreement._

 

"AND MY DAD IS ROYAL SCIENTIST, SO HE WORKS A  LOT. DO YOU LIKE SCIENCE?"

Ariel shrugs. "Dunno. Do you?"

"YES!" Papyrus looks around, then lowers his voice. "Want to see something cool?"

"Yeah!" 

Papyrus starts concentrating with all his might.

 

_"Wait," Casey whispers, "do you think he's-" She pauses, looking down at her now-asleep brother with a frown. "Sans," she says, prodding him. "You have a problem."_

_"mmphh."_

 

A small bone pops into existence, floating in the air while glowing a faint blue color. "Woah."

"THAT'S MY ATTACK!"

"Your...attack?"

"DON'T WORRY, IT'S JUST FOR TRAINING." 

The bone vanishes.

"AND USUALLY IT DOESN'T LAST THAT LONG."

"Oh, okay."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Cooking Tip #49: Oil, salt, roast-in that order.


	57. part five

"...SO, ANYWAY, THEN UNDYNE SAID-" Papyrus abruptly stops talking, his gaze looking over her shoulder. "DAD!" he gleefully cries, "COME MEET MY NEW HUMAN FRIEND!"

Papyrus hurriedly stands up, wobbling for a short second, before extending his hand out to her. Ariel takes it, and lets him help her up. Turning, she sees...a skeleton wearing a pristine lab coat over a pair of dark pants and a beige turtleneck sweater. He looks an awful lot like Papyrus, with the same jaw shape and everything. Of course, they're the only two skeletons she's met so far, so maybe they don't actually look alike? 

_Is it...racist or something to think they look the same?_

**"HELLO, IT'S NICE TO MEET YOU. MY NAME IS DOCTOR GASTER, AND I'M THE KING'S ROYAL SCIENTIST. I SEE YOU'VE ALREADY MET ONE OF MY CHILDREN."**

Gaster smiles a little, and it looks somewhat awkward on his face, like he's not used to meeting new people.

But Ariel barely heard the introduction, too busy staring at the pair of skeletal ghostly hands that appeared behind Gaster as soon as he started talking, signing along with every word he'd said. 

Gaster must notice her starting, because his smile grows a bit more nervous. **"DON'T WORRY ABOUT THESE,"** he says, gesturing to the skeletal hands, **"THEY WON'T HARM YOU. IT'S JUST HOW I COMMUNICATE. I SPEAK WITH MY HANDS, AND WITH MY VOICE."**

Ariel nods. Papyrus pats her shoulder. "DAD'S FONT IS WINGDINGS, WHICH HAS SYMBOLS AND GESTURES IN IT," he explains.

_Font? Like...on a computer?_

"HEY DAD? HAVE YOU SEEN CASEY AND SANS?" Papyrus asks, and Gaster nods.

**"THEY'VE BEEN WAITING FOR THE BOTH OF YOU, ACTUALLY."**

"Sans fell asleep," calls a girl's voice. 

"nah, i'm awake. i was just resting with my eyelids closed."

Two figures appear in the doorway. One, a skeleton. The other...a human. 

Both of them step into the room. The girl smiles, walking up to Ariel. "Howdy. The name's Casey." 

Casey holds out a hand to shake. "It's nice to meet you," she continues with a bright smile.

A little confused, Ariel takes Casey's hand, who pumps it up and down several times in greeting before letting her go.

"I'm Ariel."

(Honestly, at this point, she really doesn't want to meet anyone else. She just wants to go home.)

The smaller skeleton lazily waves, but doesn't come any closer. "sup. i'm sans. sans the skeleton."

Both Casey and Sans are almost half a head shorter than Ariel, which isn't that surprising. Ariel's used to being the tallest one in her class, so it's nice that Papyrus is around her height. 

(Even though she's only known Papyrus for a few minutes, she's oddly comfortable around him.)

 

The king and queen let her stay in a spare room for the night. Before that, she had dinner with the two of them, and it was a little uncomfortable, even though both of them were pretty nice to her.

As she falls asleep, her last thought is whether or not she'll ever see her family again. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Cooking Tip #3: To prevent butter from over-browning in your pan, add a bit of lemon juice.


	58. interlude

_On an otherwise unremarkable day, Gaster went to the garbage dump in search of broken electronics to use as spare parts in a future experiment._

_By chance, he stumbled upon a metallic box, one just big enough to hold a pair of shoes inside, and not much else. Said box had been locked, but Gaster easily solved the five digit combination (well, after about one hundred or so attempts.)_

_Inside the box was not a pair of shoes- instead, it was crammed full with a stack of papers, all covered in someone's cramped, tiny handwriting._

_Gaster had no way of knowing this at the time, but this discovery would eventually lead to the shattering of the Barrier, all without any humans or monsters dying._

 

"The doc's been in his lab for a while. Do you think one of us should go get him?"

"probably."

Casey sighs. "I doubt we'll be able to convince him to leave..."

Sans grins. "hang on, i just had an idea."

He whispers the plan into Casey's ear.

"That's brilliant!"

"i know."

"Sans, don't push it."

"heh."

 

**Possible link between human and monster souls?**

**Human and monster souls, on the surface level, appear to be the exact opposite of one another. Looking over old research papers, as well as using my first hand observations, I'm starting to think that maybe that isn't entirely true.**

**I'm ~~pretty~~   ~~mostly~~ sure that humans souls are also made of magic. **

**Evidence to Support My Theory:**

**1.) Humans can use magic, even though our bodies are not made of magic. But the magic has to come from somewhere, i.e, a human's soul.**

**2.) A mage can only perform spells that correspond with their dominant soul color.**

**Evidence Against My Theory:**

**1.) Maybe monsters use their entire being to use magical spells?**

**2.) It's also possible that human and monster magic spells are drawn from different sources.**

 

**~~Unnamed Bubble Shield~~  The Barrier Project**

**The goal of the project is to provide the ultimate defense against any form of attack (magic or physical).**

**Envelopes the caster in a "bubble"** **to deflect all attacks from any angle.**

**The only problem is that I don't want it to be used as a tank- where humans could just blast spells at monsters (or vice-versa) without any fear of being injured. I want this to be used a defense ONLY.**

**(Also, the idea of having the Barrier accidentally shatter is also something to consider in that regard.)**

**Note: Figure out how to make sure that magical attacks cannot pass through the Barrier on the inside.**

**First, though, I need to see if I can create the darn thing in the first place.**

 

**Human and Monster Souls: Strengths and Weaknesses**

**If you attack a monster _with no intention of hurting them_ , the attack causes little or no damage to the monster's soul. But if a monster attacks a human, that human will take damage, or even be killed in one single hit, regardless of whether or not said monster wants to cause serious harm/death. **

**Edit: My colleague brought up an excellent point, which is that humans can hurt monsters during a friendly spar. After some time considering this, I believe it's because during a spar, it's expected that both sides will cause slight damage to the other.**

**However, unless the human is planning on murdering the monster, their attacks will not have the same effect? Maybe?**

 

**Human souls persist long after death. Even so, they still shatter eventually, usually within thirty minutes to an hour, depending on the individual.**

**But if they were placed in an empty vessel, would they be able to last longer? Like a jar?**

**Are souls aware of their surroundings, even after death?**

**If souls are made of magic, what is magic made from?**

 

**April 5th**

**Nelson said I needed to do ~~something~~  Edit: present an actual hypothesis on the Barrier Project that he can show the board. **

**I thought I already did, but it's possible I lost the paper???**

_**Hypothesis: If the exact of amount of soul magic is given from every single soul type, then it will create a bubble shield that can defend the user from all angles.**_

_**Goal: Make it so that caster cannot ** _ **attack anyone from the inside.**

 ******Okay, that's good for now.**

 

**April 6th**

**Gave the paper to Nelson and he seemed disappointed for some reason??? Asked me why I didn't update it from the previous one???**

**Edit: Just realized- I thought he said I had forgotten to give him one? So what did he mean by "previous one"?**

**Probably just taking this out of context or something like that.**

 

**Requirements for Organically Created Magical Objects**

**1.) Must belong to a mage**

**2.) Must be an item important to said mage, both through repeated contact and emotional attachment to said item.**

**Forcing magic into an item is much quicker process, but the result is less stable. "**

 

"dad?" Sans calls from the doorway. Gaster jerks up.

**"SANS? ARE YOU OKAY?"**

"i'm good, but paps won't sleep. says he wants a bedtime story from you."

**"...I SUPPOSE I CAN TAKE A SHORT BREAK."**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Cooking Tip #1: Read the entire recipe first before you begin cooking.


	59. two weeks later

Out of all the children, Ariel spends the most time by the Barrier, either with her face pressed right up against it, eyes narrowed against the bright light, or sitting with her back leaning against the magical barricade.

Toriel makes sure to check up on the child often, usually with a plate of butterscotch cinnamon pie. She tells Ariel half-remembered stories from her own youth, and Ariel seems to enjoy listening to them. Occasionally, Toriel brings her favorite book about snails for Ariel to read.

Asgore visits Ariel as well, but at different times- neither of them want to overwhelm her too much. 

Time passes, and Ariel spends less and less time at the Barrier.

 

Recently, Asgore has started up painting as a new hobby. One afternoon, as he's setting up his supplies (a small canvas and several tubes of paint) in the throne room, he hears someone approaching.

The footsteps sound like those of a child, so he keeps his head low, not wanting to startle them. 

"What'cha painting?" Ariel asks curiously. 

Asgore looks up from the canvas he has settled upon his lap with a smile. "I'm not sure yet," he confesses. "Perhaps...you have a suggestion?"

Ariel's brows furrow in thought, humming slightly under her breath. "What's your style? Is it realistic? Or abstract?"

"I suppose a little bit of both."

"You could...you could paint me? If you want?" Ariel hesitantly says.

"That would be lovely," Asgore tells her, "just let me know if you're getting a bit bored with the whole thing."

(Ariel ends up falling asleep among the sweet smelling flowers, and dreams of nothing at all.)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Cooking Tip #40: Don't crowd the pan.


	60. one month later (part one)

Doctor Gaster sends out a text to all of the humans, asking them to meet him in the Lab. Not the True Lab, but the Regular Lab, because Ariel's only been Underground for a month or so, and he doesn't want to scare her off. 

Actually, the only humans who've been in the True Lab are Casey and Darwin, who, as far as he knows, haven't mentioned the Lab's existence to the others.

Funnily enough, when he sent out the mass invite, Darwin himself popped out from underneath one of the lab benches. 

(Apparently, he'd been doing an observational study.)

_ping!_

Casey is the first one to reply to his message.

_**Casey: okays doc** _

_**Casey: do you want me 2 bring snacks?** _

_**Gaster: No, that won't be necessary. Just bring the two items you fell Underground with.** _

_**Casey: sure** _

_**Casey: just me or everyone?** _

_**Gaster: It would be preferable for everyone to bring their items, yes.** _

Darwin peers over his shoulder to read from Gaster's phone. "I've got my stuff," he says, brandishing his notebook like a shield. "But I kind of need my glasses to see."

Gaster pauses.  **"I CAN MAKE YOU A NEW PAIR, IF WORSE COMES TO WORSE."**

Darwin pushes said glasses further up his nose. "Okay. But can you try and keep them safe?"

**"I PROMISE."**

_Ping!_

**_Cody: is this about the Barrier?_ **

**_Gaster: Yes._ **

**_Cody: On my way._ **

**_Ash: i guess we should both take the boat together to save time then_ **

**_Cody: Alright. I'm ready when you are :)_ **

**_Ash: ill be ready in 5 mins_ **

**_swoosh_ **

"Hey doc!" Casey says cheerfully, striding into the Lab with a bright smile. "I know you said not to bring snacks, but I have an opened bag of cookies with me that I'm willing to share. Oh, hey, Darwin!"

"Hi Casey," Darwin says, waving with his free hand. "That was fast."

"I was on patrol around the area," Casey explains. "The cookies were my rations, so to speak." Striding further into the room, she plops down onto the ground, her back leaning against the wall. Stretching her legs out in front of her, she yawns into an elbow. "Anyway, I brought my gun, and you guys can already see my hat."

Gaster, gaze focused on the large monitor, nods distractedly.  **"I JUST GOT MESSAGES FROM CODY AND ASH, BUT I-"**

**_Ping!_ **

Pulling out his phone from a lab coat pocket, Gaster takes a moment to read the message.  **"LOUIS JUST TEXTED."**

"What did he say?" Darwin asks.

**"HE MIGHT BE A WHILE, HE'S IN THE MIDDLE OF TRAINING."**

"Does this have anything to do with the notes you found?" Darwin questions, and Gaster nods.

**"EXACTLY. BUT SINCE THE EXPLANATION MAY TAKE A WHILE, I WANT TO WAIT UNTIL EVERYONE GETS HERE."**

Casey pulls out a crinkled bag of cookies from her inventory. "Want some?" she offers.

**"NO, THANK YOU."**

"What kind are they?"

"Chocolate chip."

"Okay, can I have one, then?"

"Sure."

**_Ping!_ **

**Cody: We're on outr way**

**Cody: *our**

"Who was that from?" Darwin asks, before taking a bite out of his cookie. 

**"CODY. SHE AND ASH WILL BE HERE MOMENTARILY."**

"What about Louis?" Casey questions, wiping the cookie crumbs off her shirt and pants. "Do you think he'll be willing to cut his training short? I don't want to wait around here forever, you know."

"I don't mind," Darwin tells her, and Casey lazily shrugs. 

"That's 'cause you're the smart one." 

**_swoosh_ **

"Hey guys, we're here!" Cody says cheerfully. "And we brought our stuff. Any reason why we needed to bring them?"

**"ONCE THE OTHERS GET HERE, I'LL EXPLAIN IN FULL. FOR NOW, ALL I CAN SAY IS THAT I MIGHT HAVE FOUND A WAY TO DESTROY THE BARRIER. MAYBE. BUT I WON'T KNOW UNTIL I HAVE ALL OF YOUR ITEMS."**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Cooking Tip #7: Use the freezer for more than just leftovers.


	61. one month later (part two)

Ariel wasn't really sure what to expect from the lab, but she's glad that it isn't like the ones she saw on the television, with mad scientists and horrifying experiments. She still has nightmares about the one horror movie she saw at a slumber party where the scientist...well, she doesn't like to think about it anymore than she has to. Put the fear away in a box in her head. 

A metaphorical box, that is.

Point is, the lab isn't scary at all. 

 **"THANK YOU ALL FOR COMING HERE,"** Doctor Gaster says with a smile.  **"I'M SORRY IF I'VE INCONVENIENCED ANY OF-"**

"I'm actually glad you texted," Louis admits, "I was getting my butt kicked by Undyne."

Cody shrugs. "I wasn't doing anything important."

"I was already here," Darwin informs them all, and Doctor Gaster sighs.

 **"WHAT A SURPRISE,"** Doctor Gaster says fondly, ruffling the boy's hair. 

 **"NOW, YOU MAY HAVE BEEN WONDERING WHY I CALLED YOU ALL HERE,"** Gaster begins, **"OR WHY I INSISTED ON HAVING YOU BRING YOUR TWO MOST IMPORTANT ITEMS."**

The cooking pan feels heavier in Ariel's hand.

**"SEVERAL DAYS AGO, I HAPPENED UPON SOME NOTES BY THE PERSON WHO CREATED THE BARRIER, AND I REALIZED THAT THERE WERE SOME....LOOPHOLES."**

"Loopholes?" Casey asks, raising both eyebrows. 

Ash shifts her weight from one foot to the other. Still sitting on the ground, Darwin twists his back, producing some cracking sounds.

**"I DON'T WANT TO GET YOUR HOPES UP, BUT...I THINK THERE MIGHT BE A WAY THAT WE CAN BREAK THE BARRIER WITHOUT ANYONE DYING. I THINK."**

"Really?" Louis exclaims, eyes wide.

Ariel startles. 

Just a month ago, she'd been told that she would never be able to escape the Underground. 

"That's awesome!" Ariel blurts out. "But...why did you want us to bring our stuff?"

**"ALL OF THESE OBJECTS ARE MEANINGFUL TO YOU IN SOME WAY, IS THAT CORRECT?"**

Everyone agrees with either a "yup," "uh-huh," or "yeah."

**"WELL, ACCORDING TO THESE NOTES, THE MORE TIME SPENT IN CONTACT WITH AN ITEM, THE MORE MAGIC IS STORED UP WITHIN SAID OBJECT, GIVING IT VARIOUS CHARACTERISTICS. IF WE CAN GET ENOUGH MAGIC INTO ALL THE ITEMS, WE COULD USE THEM TO BREAK THE BARRIER. IN THEORY."**

Doctor Gaster shrugs.  **"WHICH IS WHY I ASKED YOU TO BRING YOUR MOST IMPORTANT ITEMS."**

The frying pan feels heavy in her hand. "Are you...going to take them from us?"

**"NO, NO, I'M NOT GOING TO STEAL THEM. I JUST NEED TO STUDY THEM FOR A WHILE. I PROMISE I WON'T BREAK ANYTHING."**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Cooking Tip #17: Pre-soak pasta and it will cook in about 60 seconds.


	62. part eight

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Why is this part eight? Well, the other two chapters weren't really focused on Ariel, so I decided to give her two more chapters instead.

Ariel can hear Toriel humming in the kitchen as she bakes a butterscotch-cinnamon pie for tonight's dessert. Ariel, sitting in the large rocking chair, rocks it back and forth slowly, feeling like a sailor on a ship lost at sea. 

But the air smells of sweet cinnamon and butterscotch instead of a salty ocean breeze, and even though the idea of sailing seems like fun, it's much nicer to be here. She still feels lost, though, and she doesn't know if that feeling will ever go away.

Ariel's been living here for less than two months, but the other five humans have been down here for _years_. Cody, the only adult, said they'd fallen into the Underground when they were a preteen, a fact which Ariel tries not to think too much about. The idea of growing up here is...unimaginable.

Her family must be so worried, because they don't know that she's safe, all they know is that she's missing. Maybe her parents think that she's _dead_. 

Doctor Gaster is working on a way to break the Barrier, but it might take years, and in that time, Gabe will have probably forgotten all about her.

_Stay positive!_

_Didn't Doctor Gaster say he was really close?_

_After all, just because he said it **might** take years, it doesn't mean that it  **will**. _

_Everything's going to be okay._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Cooking Tip #14: Put a lid on your pot to help the water boil faster.


	63. part nine

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Not all of the Fallen Children-that's what they're unofficially called, even though Cody is an adult now- have a home on the Surface to return to.

The Librarby is a cozy little building, with plenty of interesting books to read. There aren't any cookbooks though, which is kind of a bummer.

At home, Ariel would read their only cooking book over and over again. Even before she learned how to read, the cool pictures drew her in. She's pretty much memorized the entire thing, except for the recipe for Mushroom Soup. 

Anyway, Ariel likes going to the Librarby. Everyone's nice, and it's always peaceful there. 

 

Right now, the only other person in the Librarby is Cody, who's sitting at the main desk, pouring over an old book with a small frown. Ariel watches them, a question burning in their throat. According to Toriel, Cody's been here the longest, having fallen underground when they were just ten years old, the same age as Ariel.

Ariel isn't sure how old Cody is, but they're definitely a grownup. Not as old as her parents, though. 

Without look up from their book, Cody asks, "Do you need anything? Glass of water? Cookie?"

"No, I'm fine," Ariel says in her politest tone. Cody shrugs.

"You have something you want to ask me?"

"I don't wanna be rude," Ariel says, looking down at the carpeted floor, "but have you really been living here for over ten years?"

Gently closing the book, Cody nods. "Yep."

"What...what's it like down here? Do you miss your family?"

"Pretty good. Of course, I wasn't in the same situation you're in," Cody admits. "You have a family on the Surface. I...kind of didn't."

_Why did I have to ask Cody something like that?_

_They're probably really-_

"Don't worry," Cody says, breaking her train of thought, "I don't mind talking about it. Besides, I have a family of my own down here. So, in a certain sense, I don't consider myself trapped."

"Oh."

"Anyway," Cody says, changing the subject, "do you think you could help me out with something?"

"Sure."

"I need someone to watch the front desk while I get some stuff from home. You don't have to do anything, I just feel better knowing that someone's here."

"Okay."

"Thanks!"


End file.
